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eyes were with rage it was the te of the poor donkey boys which had carried the self soldier out of his usual calm during the firing they had remained huddled a pitiable group among the rocks at the base of the hill now upon the conviction that the charge of the must come first upon them th had sprung upon their animals with shrill inarticulate cries of fear and had galloped off across the plain a small party of eight or ten men had worked round while the firing had been going on and these dashed in among the flying boys and with a cold blooded ferocity one little boy in a flapping kept ahead of his for a tune but the long stride of the him down and an thrust his spear into the middle of his stooping back the small looked like a flock of sheep trailing over the desert but the people upon the rock had no time to think of the cruel fate of the donkey boys even the colonel after that first indignant outburst had forgotten all about them the advancing had trotted to the bottom of the hill had and leaving their had rushed furiously onward fifty of them were up the path and over the rocks together their red appearing and vanishing again as they scrambled over the without a shot or a pause they over the three j bv the tragedy of the black soldiers killing one and stamping the other two down under t hurrying feet so they burst on to the at the top where an unexpected resistance checked them for an instant the travellers up against one another had awaited each after his own fashion the coming of the the colonel with his hands in his pockets tried to whistle out of his dry lips folded his arms and leaned against a rock with a sulky frown upon his lowering face so strangely do our minds act that his three successive and the to his reputation as a was troubling him more than his impending fate brown stood erect and e nervously at the points of his moustache groaned over his wounded wrist mr in e shook his head slowly the living of law and order mr stood his umbrella still over him with no expression upon his heavy face or in his staring brown eyes lay with that china white cheek resting motionless upon the stones his sun hat had oflf and he looked quite boyish with his ruffled yellow hair and his clean cut the sat upon a stone and played nervously with his donkey whip so the found them when they reached the summit of the hill and then just as the foremost rushed to lay hands upon a most incident arrested them from the time of the first appear ance of the the fat clergyman of had looked like a man in a trance he had neither moved nor spoken but now he suddenly woke at a bound into the tragedy of the and heroic energy it may have been the of fear or it may the blood of some which stirred suddenly in his veins but he broke into a wild shout and catching up a stick he struck right and left among the with a fury which was more savage than their own one who to draw up this narrative has left it upon that of all the pictures which have been burned into his brain there is none so clear as that of this man his large face shining with perspiration and his great dancing about with a as he struck at the ing savages then a spear head flashed from be hind a rock with a quick vicious upward thrust the clergyman fell upon his hands and knees and the over him to seize their victims knives their eyes rude hands clutched at their wrists and at their throats and then with brutal and violence they were hauled and pushed down the steep winding path to where the were waiting below the frenchman waved his d hand as he walked five le i le ma us he shouted until a blow from behind with the butt end of a beat him into silence and now they were in at the base of the rock this group of modem types who had into the rough clutch of the seventh century for in all save the in their hands there was nothing to distinguish these men from the desert warriors who first carried the flag out of the east does not change ana the were not less brave less cruel or less than their they j the tragedy op the stood in a circle upon their guns and and with eyes at the group of they were clad in some approach to a uniform red gathered around the neck as well as the head so that the fierce face looked out of a scarlet frame yellow shoes and white with square brown patches let into them all carried and one had a small over his shoulder half of them were fine muscular men with the limbs of a jet and the other half were bag small brown with little vicious eyes and thin cruel lips the chief was also a ba but he was a taller man than the others with a black beard which came down over his chest and a pair of hard cold eyes which gleamed like glass from under his thick black brows they were fixed now upon his and his features were grave with thought mr had been brought down his hat gone his face still with anger and his trousers sticking in one part to his leg the two soldiers their black faces and blue coats with crimson stood at attention upon one side of this forlorn group of wa the chief stood for some minutes his black beard while his fierce eyes	4
glanced from one pale to another along the miserable of his in a harsh imperious voice he said something which brought the to the front with bent back and outstretched palms to his there had always seemed to be something comic in that flapping and short cover coat above it but now j the tragedy of the under the glare of the mid day sun with those faces gathered round them it appeared rather to add a grotesque horror to the scene the like some doll and then as the chief out a word or two he fell suddenly upon his face rubbing his forehead into the sand and flapping upon it with his hands what s that asked why is he making an exhibition of himself as r as can understand it is all up with us the colonel answered but this is cried the frenchman excitedly why should these people wish any harm to me i hare never them on the other i have always been their friend if i could but speak to them i would make them comprehend i the excited gestures of drew the sinister eyes of the chief upon him again he asked a question and kneeling in front of him answered it tell him that i am a frenchman tell him that i am a friend of the tell him that my countrymen hare never had any quarrel with him but that his enemies axe also ours the chief asks what religion you call your own said the he says has no necessity for any friendship from those who are and tell him that in france we look upon all as good the says that none but a dog and the son of a dog would say that all are one as good as the other he says that if you are the tragedy of the indeed the friend of the you will accept the and become a true upon the spot if you will do so he will promise on his side to send you alive to and if not you will in the same way as the others then you may make my compliments to the chief and tell him that it is not the custom for to change their religion under the chief said a few words and then turned to consult with a short sturdy at his elbow he says said the that if you speak again he will make a out of you for the dogs to feed from say to anger him sir for he is now talking what is to be done with us who is he asked the colonel it is all the same who last year and killed all of the village i ve heard of him said the colonel he has the name of being one of the and the most of all the s leaders thank god that the women are out of his the two had been talking in that stem restrained which comes so strangely from a southern race now they both turned to the who was still kneeling upon the sand they him with questions pointing first to one and then to another of their prisoners then they conferred together once more and finally said something to with a contemptuous wave of the hand to indicate that he might convey it to the others thank heaven gentlemen i think that we are j the tragedy of the saved for the present time said wiping away the sand which had stuck to his forehead that though an should have only the edge of t e sword from one of the sons of prophet yet it might be of more profit to the el at if it had the gold which your people will pay you until it comes you can work as the slaves of the unless he should decide to put you to death you are to mount yourselves upon the spare and to ride with the party the chief had waited for the end of the explanation now he gave a brief order and a negro stepped forward with a long dull coloured sword in his hand the like a rabbit who sees a and threw himself down upon the sand once more what is it asked brown for the colonel had served in the east and was the only one of the travellers who had a of as far as i can make out he says there is no use keeping the as no one would trouble to pay a for him and he is too fat to make a good slave poor devil cried brown here tell them to let him go we can t let him be like this in front of us say that we will find the money amongst us i will be for any reasonable sum i u stand in as r as my means will allow cried we will sign a joint bond or said the lawyer if i had a paper and pencil i could throw it into shape in an instant and the l the tragedy of the could r y upon its being perfectly correct and but the colonel s was insufficient and himself was too by fear to understand the offer which was being made for him the negro looked a question at the chief and then his long black arm swung upward and his sword over his shoulder but the had screamed out something which arrested the blow and which brought the chief and the lieutenant to his side with a new interest upon their the others crowded in also and formed a dense circle around the pleading man the colonel had not understood this sudden change nor had the others the reason of it but some instinct flashed it upon st s on you villain he cried hold your tongue you miserable creature i be silent i better die a thousand times better	4
die i but it was too late and already they could all see the base design by which the coward to save his own life he was about to betray the women th saw the chief with a brave man s contempt upon his stem ce m e a sign of haughty assent and spoke rapidly and earnestly pointing up the h li at a word from the a dozen of the rushed up tjie path and were lost to view upon the top then came a shrill cry a horrible scream of surprise and terror and an instant later the party streamed into sight dragging the women in their midst same with her young active limbs kept up with them as they sprang down the slope encouraging her aunt all the while over her shoulder the older lady l g the tragedy of the amid the rushing white looked thin limbs and open mouth a chicken bo draped from a the chiefs dark eyes glanced indifferently at miss but gazed with a fire at the younger woman then he ve an abrupt order and the prisoners were in a miserable hopeless drove to the cluster of kneeling their pockets had already been and the contents thrown into one of the food bags the neck of which was tied up by s own hands i say whispered looking with eyes at the wretched i ve got a little hip revolver which they have not discovered shall i shoot that cursed away the women colonel shook his head you had better keep it he with a ce the women may find some other use for it before all is over chapter v the some brown and some white were kneeling in a long line their jaws moving from side to side and their poised heads turning to right and left in a self conscious fashion most of them were beautiful creatures true with the slim limbs and finely turned necks which mark the breed but amongst them were a few of the slower heavier beasts with skins by the black of old these were loaded with the and the water skins of the but a few minutes to their loads and to make place for the prisoners none of these had been bound with the exception of mr for the understanding that he was a clergyman and accustomed to associate religion with violence had looked upon his fierce outburst as quite natural and him now as the most dangerous and of their his hands were therefore tied together with a but the ers including the and the two were allowed to mount without any precaution against their escape save that which was afforded by the of their beasts then with a shouting of men and a roaring of the creatures were on to their i aad the long straggling procession off with its back to the homely river and its to the the tragedy of the violet haze which hung round the huge sweep of beautiful terrible desert striped tiger with black rock and with golden sand none of the white prisoners with the exception of colonel had ever been upon a before it seemed an alarming distance to the ground when they looked down and the swaying motion with the of the saddle made them sick and frightened but their bodily discomfort was forgotten in the turmoil of bitter thoughts within what a chasm between their old life and their new i and yet how short was the time and space which divided them less than an hour ago they had stood upon the summit of that rock and had laughed and or grumbled at the heat and flies becoming at small had been critical over the tints of nature they could not forget his own tint as he lay with his cheek upon the black stone had about dresses and now she was clinging half crazy to the of a wooden saddle with suicide rising as a red star of hope in her mind humanity reason argument all were gone and there remained the brutal humiliation of force and all the time down there by the second rocky point their steamer was waiting for them their saloon with the white and the glasses the latest novel and the london papers the least imaginative of them could see it so clearly the white mrs with her yellow sun hat mrs lying back in the canvas chair there it lay almost in sight of them that little floating broken off from home and every silent step of the the tragedy of the was them more hopelessly from it that very morning how had appeared how pleasant was life a little commonplace out so soothing and and now the red head gear patched and yellow boots had already shown to the colonel these men were no wandering party of robbers but a troop from the regular army of the now as struck across the desert they showed that they possessed the rude discipline which their work demanded a mile ahead and i out on either flank rode their dipping and rising among the yellow sand hills headed the and his short sturdy lieutenant brought up the rear the main party led over a couple of hundred and in the middle was the httle of prisoners no attempt was made to keep them apart and mr soon contrived that his should be between those of the two ladies don t be down hearted miss said he this is a most outrage but there can be no question that steps be taken in the proper quarter to set the matter right i am convinced we shall be subjected to nothing worse than a if it had not been for that villain you need not have appeared at all it was shocking to see the change in the little lady for she had to an old woman in an hour her	4
cheeks had in and her eyes shone wildly from sunken darkened her frightened glances were continually turned upon is surely l i the tragedy of the some angel which can only gather her best treasures in moments of disaster for here were au these to their doom and already and selfishness had passed away from them and each was thinking and only for the other thought of her aunt her thought of tiie men thought of the women i thought of his wife and then he thought of something else also and he kicked his s shoulder with his heel he found himself upon the near of miss i ve got something for you here he whispered we may be separated soon so it is as well to make om separated i miss don t speak loud for that infernal may give us away i hope it won t be so but it might we must be prepared for the worst for example they might determine to get rid of us men and to keep you miss shuddered what am i to do for god s sake me what i am to do mr i am an old woman i have had my day i could stand it if it was only myself but i am clean d when i of her there s her mother waiting at home and i she clasped her thin together in the agony of her thou ts put your out under your dust cloak said his up against hers don t miss your grip of it there now hide it in your dress and always have a key to any door miss felt what it was which he had slipped into her hand and she looked at him for a l the tragedy of the moment in then she up her lips and shook her stem brown race in but she pushed the little pistol into its hiding place all the same and she rode with her thoughts in a whirl could this indeed be she of boston whose narrow happy life had between the comfortable house in avenue and the church here she was upon a with her hand upon the butt of a pistol and her mind weighing the of murder oh life sly sleek treacherous life how are we ever to trust you show us your worst and we can ce it but it is when you are sweetest and that we have most to fear from you at the worst miss it will oi y be a question of said arguing against own convictions besides we are still close to egypt far away from the country there is sure to be an energetic pursuit you must try not to lose your courage and to hope for the best no i am not scared mr said turning toward him a ce which her words we re all in g s hands and surely he won t be cruel to us it is easy to talk about trusting him when things are going well but now is the real test if he s up there behind that blue heaven he is a voice behind them and they found that the clergyman had joined the party his tied hands clutched on to his saddle and his fat body swayed from side to side with every stride of the his wounded leg was with blood the tragedy of the with flies and the desert sun beat down upon his bare head for ne had lost both hat and umbrella in the a rising fever his large white cheeks with a touch of colour and brought a into his brown he had always seemed s somewhat gross and vulgar person to his fellow travellers now this bitter healing draught of sorrow had transformed he was exalted he had become so strong that he made the others feel stronger as they looked upon him he spoke of life and of death of the present and their hopes of the and the black cloud of their misery began to show a golden or brown shrugged his shoulders for he could not change in an hour the convictions of his life but the others even the frenchman were touched and strengthened they all took off their hats when he prayed then the colonel made a out of his red silk and insisted that mr should wear it with his homely dress and gorgeous head gear he looked like a man who has dressed up to amuse the children and now the dull ceaseless torment of thirst was added to the aching weariness which came from the motion of the the sun glared down upon them and then up again from uie yellow sand and the great plain and owed until they felt as if they were riding over a sheet of their lips were and dried and their tongues like of they curiously in their for it the sounds which would come without an effort miss s chin had dropped the tragedy of the upon her chest and her great hat concealed her race will faint if she does not get water said oh mr is there nothing we could do the riding near were all with the exception of one negro an i fellow with a ce with his expression seemed good natured when compared with that of his comrades and ventured to touch his elbow and to point to his water skin and then to the exhausted lady the n ro shook his head but at the same time he glanced significantly toward the as if to say that if it were not for them he mi t act differently he laid his black forefinger upon the breast of his said he s that asked colonel repeated the ne sinking his voice as if he wished only the prisoners to near him the colonel shook his head my won t bear much	4
strain i don t know what he is saying said he the negro repeated i the fellow is friendly to us but i cant quite make him out said to do you think that he means that his name is and that he killed the showed his great white teeth at hearing his own words coming back to him i said he manner i l the tragedy of the by jove i got it i he s trying to english is as near as he can get to egyptian he has served in the egyptian under he was taken prisoner when was destroyed and had to turn to save his skin how s that the colonel said a few words of and a reply but two of the closed up and the negro quickened his pace and left them you are quite right said the colonel the fellow is to us and would rather fight for the for the i don t know that he can do us any good but i ve been in worse holes than this and come out right side up after all we are not out of reach of pursuit and won t be for another forty eight hours calculated the matter out in his slow fashion it was about twelve that we were on the rock said he they would become alarmed aboard the steamer if we did not appear at two yes the colonel interrupted that was to be our lunch hour i remember sa ng that when i came back i would have oh lord it s best not to think about iti the was a sleepy old continued but i have absolute confidence in the s and decision of my wife she would upon an immediate alarm being given suppose they started back at two thirty they should be at by three since the journey is down stream how long did they say that it took to turn out the give them an hour the tragedy of the and another hour to get them across the river they would be at the rock and pick up the tracks by six o clock after that it is a clear race we are only four hours ahead and some these beasts are very spent we may be saved yet some of us may i don t expect to see the alive to morrow nor miss either th are not made for this sort of thing either of them then again we must not forget that these people have a trick of prisoners when they think that there is a chance of a rescue see here in case you get back and i don t there s a matter of a that i want you to set right for me they rode on with their shoulders inclined to each other deep in the details of business the friendly negro who had talked of himself as had managed to slip a piece of cloth soaked in water into the hand of mr and miss had her lips with it even the few drops had given her renewed strength and now that tne first crushing shock was over her elastic yankee nature began to itself these people don t look as if they would harm us mr said she i guess they have a working religion of their own such as it is and that what s wrong to us is wrong to them shook his head in silence he had seen the death of the donkey boys and she had not maybe we are sent to guide them into a better path the old lady are specially out for a good work among them the tragedy of the if it were not for her niece her energetic and temperament was capable of in the chance of and turning into a well drained broad of a new england town do you know what i am thinking of all the time said you remember that temple that we saw when was it why it was morning they ve an exclamation of surprise all three of them yes it had been this morning and it seemed away and away in some dim past experience of their lives so vast was the change so new and so overpowering the thoughts which had come between them they rode in silence full of this strange of time until at last reminded that she had left her remark unfinished oh yes it was the wall picture on that temple that i was thinking of do you remember the poor string of prisoners who are being dragged along to the feet of the great king how dejected they looked among the warriors who led them who could who could have thought that within three hours the same fate should be own and mr she turned face away and b an to cry don t take on said her aunt remember what the minister said just now that we are all right there in the hollow of god s hand where do you think we are going mr the red edge of his still projected the lawyer s pocket for it had not been worth their while to take it he glanced down at it if they will only leave me this i will look up l the tragedy of the a few when we halt i have a general idea of the country for i drew a small map of it the other day the river runs om south to north so we must he travelling almost due west i suppose they feared pursuit if they kept too near the there is a route i which runs parallel to the river about seventy miles inland if we continue in this direction for a day we ought to come to it there is a line of which it passes it comes out at if i remember right upon the	4
egyptian side on the other side it leads away the country so perhaps his words were interrupted by a high e er voice which broke suddenly into a torrent of words words without meaning pouring but in angry and foolish the pink had deepened to scarlet mr s cheeks his eyes were vacant but brilliant and he as he rod kindly mother nature i she will not let her children be too r this is too much she says this wounded leg these this anxious weary mind come away for a time until your body becomes more and so she the mind away into the of delirium while the little workers and toil within to get things better for its home coming when you see the veil of cruelty which nature wears by and peer through it and you will sometimes catch a glimpse of a very homely kindly face behind the guards looked at this sudden outbreak of ue clergyman for it upon and is to them a and the tragedy of the natural one of them rode forward and spoke with me when he returned he something to his comrades one of whom closed in upon side of the minister s so as to him from the friendly negro his beast up to the colonel and to him we are going to halt presently said thank god i they may give us some water we can t go on like this i told that if he could help us we would turn into a when we got him back into egypt i think he s enough if he only had the power by jove do look back at the river their route which had sand strewn with jagged black edges up which one would think it possible that a could climb opened out now on to a hard rolling plain covered thickly with rounded pebbles dipping and rising to the violet hills upon the horizon so regular were the long brown strewn curves that they looked like the dark of some monstrous ground well here and there a little straggling sage green of grass up between the stones brown plains and violet hills nothing else in front of them behind lay the black jagged rocks throng which they had passed with orange slopes of sand and then r away a thin line of green to mark the course of the river how cool and that looked in the abominable wilderness on one side th could see the high rock the accursed rock which had tempted to the tragedy of the ruin on the other tiie river curved and tiie sun upon the water oh that liquid and the animal the brutal primitive which for the instant took the soul out of all of them they had lost families countries liberty everything but it was only of water water water that they could think mr in his delirium b an roaring for and it was for them to have to listen to him only the rough rose superior to that bodily craving that gleam of river must be somewhere near and his wife might be upon the very water at which he looked he pulled his hat over his eyes and rode in gloomy ice biting at his strong iron grey moustache slowly the sun sank toward the west and their shadows began to trail along the path where their hearts would go it was cooler and a desert breeze had sprung up whispering over the rolling stone plain the at their head had called his lieutenant to his side and the pair had peered about their eyes shaded by their hands looking for some then with a satisfied the had seemed to break short off at its knees and then at its going down in three curious broken until its stomach was stretched upon the ground as each succeeding reached the spot it lay down also until they were all stretched in one long line the sprang off and laid out the upon m front of them for no will eat from the ground in gentle eyes their quiet leisurely way of eating and their f manner there was something both and genteel as though a party the tragedy of the old maids had in the heart of the desert there was no interference with the prison s either or female for how could they escape in the centre of that huge plain the came toward them once and stood out his blue black beard with his fingers and looking thoughtfully at them out of his dark sinister eyes miss saw with a shudder that it was always upon that his gaze was fixed then seeing their distress he gave an order and a negro t a water skin from which he gave each of them about half a it was hot and muddy and tasted of leather but oh how delightful it was to their the said a few abrupt words to the and left ladies and gentlemen began with something of his old manner but a glare fix m the colonel s eyes struck the words from his lips and he broke away into a long excuse for his conduct how could i do anything otherwise he with the very knife at my throat you will have the very rope round your throat if we all see egypt again growled savagely in the meantime that s all right colonel said but for our own we ought to know what the chief has said for my part have nothing to do with the i think that that is going too r we are bound to hear what he has to say ed his shoulders had made him irritable and he had to his the of the to keep down a answer he walked slowly away with his legged military stride what did he say then asked looking at the with an	4
rocks see here cried the colonel these fellows will want to us if they see it is all up i know their ways and we must be ready for it will you be ready to jump on the fellow with the blind eye and take the if i can the tragedy of the get my around him you must do what you can you ii est to these before they can hurt us you m tell those two soldiers that they must be ready but but his words died into a murmur and he swallowed once or twice these are said he and it sounded like another of all the bitter day it was the very bitterest moment happy mr lay upon the pebbles with his back against the ribs of and chuckled at some those busy little cell workers had come across in his fat face was and with merriment but the others how sick how heart sick were they all i the women cried the men turned away in that silence which is b tears fell upon his ce and shook with dry the were firing their as a welcome to friends and tne others as they trotted their across the open returned the and waved their and in the air th were a smaller band than the first one not more than thirty but dressed in the same red and patched one of them earned a small white banner with a scarlet text across it but there was something there which drew the eyes and the thoughts of the away from everything else the same fear at each of their hearts and the same impulse kept each of them silent they stared at a swaying white figure half seen amidst the ranks of the desert warriors what s that th have in the middle of them the tragedy of the cried at last look miss surely it is a woman there was something there upon a but it was difficult to catch a of it and then suddenly as the two bodies met the opened out and they saw it plainly it s a white woman the steamer has been taken i gave a cry that sounded high above darling he shouted keep your heart i m here and it is all well l chapter vi so the had been taken and the chances of rescue upon which they had reckoned all those elaborate calculations of hours and distances were as as the which upon the horizon there would be no alarm at until it was found that the steamer did not return in the evening even now when the was only a thin green band upon the horizon the pursuit had probably not in a hundred miles or even less they would be in the country how small then was the chance that the forces could overtake them they all sank into a silent sulky despair with the exception of who was held back by the guards as he strove to go to his wife s assistance the two bodies of men had and the in their dignified fashion were exchanging and experiences while the and shouted with the careless good humour which even the has not been able to alter the leader of the was a a worn old man abrupt and fierce in his manner and in his bearing the groaned when he saw him and his hands miserably with the air of a man who sees trouble upon trouble it is the he i fear now that we shall r come to alive the tragedy of the the name meant to the others but col had heard of him as a monster of cruelty and a red hot of the old fighting preaching who never hesitated to carry the f doctrines of the to their final conclusions he and the conferred gravely together their side by side and then red inclined inward so that the black beard mingled with the white one then they both turned and stared long and at the poor head han g of prisoners the younger man pointed and explained while his senior listened with a sternly face who s that nice looking old gentleman in the white beard asked miss who had been the first to rally from the bitter disappointment that is their leader now answered you don t say that he takes command over that other one yes lady said the he is now the head of au well that s good for us he puts me in mind of elder who was at the church in minister scott s time anyhow i had rather be in his power than in the hands of that black haired one with the eyes dear you feel better now it s cooler don t you y es don t you fret about me how are you yourself well i m stronger in ith than i was i set you b poor example for i was clean at first at the suddenness of it bu and at thinking of what your mother who you to me would think about it my land there u be some the tragedy of the lines in the boston herald over this i guess somebody will have to suffer for it poor mr i cried as the monotonous voice of the man came again to their ears come and see if we cannot do something to relieve him i m uneasy about mrs and the child said colonel i can see your wife but i can see no one else they are bringing her over cried he thank god we shall hear all about it th haven t hurt you have they he ran forward to grasp and kiss the hand which his wife held down to him as he helped her from the the kind grey eyes and calm sweet face of the comfort and hope to the whole	4
party she was a devout roman catholic and it is a creed which forms an excellent in hours of danger to her to the colonel to the minister to the american even to the two pagan black religion in its various forms was the same beneficent office always that the worst which the world can do is a small thing and that however harsh the ways of providence may seem it is on the whole the wisest for us that we should go whither t e great hand guides us they had not a in common these fellows in misfortune but they held the intimate de spirit the calm essential which is the world old of religion with crops of growing like upon its granite surface you poor things she said i can see that l the tragedy of the you have had a much worse time than i have no really john dear i am quite well not even very for our party filled their water skins at the and th let me have as much as i wanted but i don t see mr and mr brown and poor mr what a state he has been reduced to i and brown are out of their troubles her husband answered you don t know how often i have thanked god to day that you were not with us and here you are after all where should i be but by my husband s side i had much be here than safe at has any news gone to the town asked the colonel one boat escaped mrs and her child and maid were in it i was downstairs in my cabin when the rushed on to the vessel those on deck had time to escape for the boat was alongside i don t know whether any of them were hit the fired at them for some time did they cried his irish nature catching the sunshine in an instant then be jove well do them yet for the garrison must have heard the firing what d ye think they must be foil cry upon our scent this four hours any minute we might see the white of a british officer coming over that rise but disappointment had left the colonel cold and they need not come at all unless they come l the tragedy of the strong said he these fellows are picked men with good leaders and on their own ground they will t ke a lot of beating suddenly he paused and looked at the by george i said he that s a sight worth seeing i the great red sun was down with half its slipped the violet bank upon the horizon it was the hour of prayer an older and more learned would have turned to that magnificent thing upon the and adored that but these children of the desert were nobler in than the polished to them the ideal was higher than the mat and it was with their backs to the sun and their to the central shrine of their religion that they prayed and how they prayed these i absorbed with yearning eyes and shining faces rising stooping with their upon their praying carpets who could doubt as he watched their heart whole devotion that here was a great living power in the world but tremendous countless millions all thinking as one from cape to the of china let a common wave pass over them let a great soldier or arise among them to use the grand material at his hand and who shall say that this may not be the with which providence may sweep the rotten impossible half hearted south of europe as it did a thousand years ago until it makes room for a stock and now as they rose to their feet the rang out and the prisoners understood that having travelled all day they were fated to travel all night also groaned for he had reckoned ji the tragedy of the upon the catching them up before they this camp but the others had already got into the way of accepting the inevitable a flat loaf had been given to each of them what effort of the of the post boat had ever tasted like that dry brown bread and then luxury of luxuries they had a second of a glass of water for the fresh filled bags of the new comers had provided an ample supply if the body would but follow the lead of toe soul as readily as the soul does that of the body what a heaven the earth might be t now with their base material wants satisfied for the instant their spirits be n to sing within them and they mounted their with some sense of the romance of position mr remained upon the ground and the made no to lift him his saddle his large white face g through the gathering darkness hi tell them that they are forgetting mr cried the colonel no use sir s d they say that he is too fat and that they will not take him any farther he will die they say and why should they trouble about him not take him cried why the man will perish of hunger and thirst where s the hi he shouted as the black bearded passed with a tone like that in which he used to summon a donkey boy the chief did not to answer mm but said something to one of the guards who dashed the butt of his into the colonel s ribs the old soldier fell forward gasping and was carried on half senseless clutching at the of his saddle the women began the tragedy of the to and the men with muttered curses and clenched hands in that hell of impotent passion where brutal injustice and ill usage hare to go without check or even remonstrance at	4
his hip pocket for his little revolver and then ed that he had already given it to miss if his hot hand had clutched it it would have meant the death of the and the of the party and now as they rode onward they saw one of the most singular of the phenomena of the egyptian desert in front of them though the ill treatment of their companion had left them in no hu for its beauty when the sun had sunk the horizon had remained of a hue but now this began to and to until a curious false dawn developed and it seemed as if a sun was coming back along the path which it had just abandoned a rosy pink hung over tiie west with beautifully delicate sea green tints along the upper edge of it slowly these into slate again and the ni t had come it was but twenty four hours since they had sat in their canvas chairs discussing politics by on the saloon deck of the only twelve since they had there and had started and fresh upon their last pleasure trip what a world of fresh impressions had come upon them since then t how rudely they had been out of their take it for complacency i the same stars as they had looked upon last night the same thin of moon but they what a chasm lay between that old life and this i the l line of moved as noiselessly as the tragedy of the across the desert before and behind were silent swaying white figures of the not a sound anywhere not the very sound until far away behind them they heard a human voice singing in a strong fashion it had the strangest this away voice in that huge inarticulate wilderness and then there came a well known into that distant chant and they could almost hear the words we nightly pitch our moving tent a day s march nearer home was mr in his right mind or was it some coincidence of his delirium that he should bare chosen this for his song with moist eyes bis looked back through the darkness for well they knew that home was very near to this wanderer gradually the voice died away into a hum and was absorbed once more into the silence of the desert my dear old chap i hope you re not hurt said laying his upon s knee the colonel had straightened himself though he still gasped a little in his breathing i am all right again now would you kindly show me which was the man who struck me it was the fellow in front there with his beside s the young fellow with the moustache i can t see him very well in this but i think i could pick him out again thank you but i thought some of your ribs were gone no it only knocked the wind out of me you must be made of iron it was a frightful blow how could you rally from it so the tragedy of the the colonel cleared his throat and and stammered the ct is my dear i m sure you would not let it go further above all not to the ladies but i am rather older than i used to be and rather than lose the military carriage which has been dear to me i stays be jove i cried the astonished well some slight artificial support said the colonel stiffly ana the conversation off to the chances of the morrow it still comes back in their dreams to those who are left that long night s march in the desert it was like a dream itself the silence of it as they were borne forward upon those soft shuffling feet and the flitting flickering figures which upon every side of them the whole seemed to be hung as a monstrous time dial in fi ont of them a star would like a lantern on the very level of their path they looked again and it was a hand s breadth up and another was shining beneath it hour after hour the broad stream flowed across the deep blue background worlds and systems drifting overhead and pouring over the dark horizon in their and their beauty there was a vague consolation to the prisoners for their own te and their own individuality seemed trivial and unimportant amid the play of such tremendous forces slowly the grand procession swept across the heaven first climbing then hanging long with little apparent motion and then sinking downward until away in the east the first cold ey glimmer appeared and their own hazard other s sight l the tragedy of the the day had tortured them with its heat and now the night had brought the even more discomfort of cold the themselves id their gowns and wrapped up their heads the prisoners beat their hands together and shivered miserably miss felt it most for she very thin with the circulation of age slipped off his jacket and threw it over her he rode b and whistled and to make her believe that her aunt was really him by carrying his jacket for him but the attempt was too boisterous not to be obvious and yet it was so far true that he probably felt the cold less than any of the party for the old old fire was burning in his heart and a curious joy was all his misfortunes so that he would have found it hard to say if this adventure had been the greatest evil or the greatest blessing of his lifetime aboard the boat s youth her beauty her intelligence and humour all made him that she could at t e best only be expected to endure him but now he felt that he was really of some use to her that every hour	4
she was learning to turn to him as one turns to one s natural protector and above a he had begun to find himself to understand that there was a strong man behind all the tricks of custom which had built up an artificial nature which had imposed even upon himself a little glow of self respect began to warm his blood he had missed his youth when he was young and now in his middle age it was coming up like some flower i do that you are all the time enjoying it mr said with some bitterness the tragedy of the i would not bo so r as to say that he answered but quite certain that i would not leave you here it was the nearest approach to tenderness which he had ever put into a speech and the girl looked at him in i think i ve been a very wicked girl all my life she said after a pause because i have had a good time myself i never thought of those who were unhappy this has struck me serious if ever i get back i shall be a better woman a more earnest woman in the future and i a better man i suppose it is just for that that trouble comes to us how it has brought out the virtues of au our take poor mr for example should we ever known what a noble constant man he was and see and his wife in fix nt of us there going forward hand in hand thinking only of each other and who always seemed on board the boat to be a rather stand narrow sort of man look at his courage and his unselfish indignation when any one is ill used too is as brave as a lion i think misfortune has done us all good sighed yes if it would end here me might say so but if it goes on ana on for a few weeks or months of misery and then ends in death i don t know where we reap the benefit of those improvements of character which it brings suppose you escape what will you do the lawyer hesitated but his instincts were still strong i will consider whether an action lies and the of the whom it should be with the of the expedition for taking us to the or else with the egyptian government not protecting their it will be a nice le question and what will you do it was the first time that he had ever dropped the formal miss but the girl was too much in earnest to notice it i will be more tender to others she said i will ti to make else happy in memory of the miseries which i have endured you have done nothing all your life but made others happy you cannot help doing it said he the made it more easy for him to break through the reserve which was habitual with him you need this rough far less than of us how could your character be changed for the better you show how little you know me i have been very and thoughtless at least you had no need for all these strong emotions you were sufficiently alive without them now it has been different with me why did you need emotions mr because anything is better than fun is better than i have only just begun to live hitherto i have been a machine upon the earth s surface i was a one man and a one man is only one remove from a dead man that is what i have only just b un to for all these years i have never been stirred never felt a real throb of human emotion pass through me i had no time for it had observed it m others and i had vaguely wondered whether there was some want in me which pre the tragedy of the my sharing the experience of my but now last few days have taught me how keenly i can live that i can have hopes and deadly fears that i can hate and that i can well that i can have every strong feeling which the soul can experience i have come to life i may be on the brink of the grave but at least i can say now that i have lived and why did you lead this soul killing life in i was ambitious i wanted to get on and then there were my mother and my sisters to be thou t of thank heaven here is the morning coming your aunt and you will soon cease to feel the cold and you without your coat oh i have a very good circulation i can manage very well in my sleeves and now the long cold weary night was over and the deep blue black sky had to a ful violet with the stars still brightly out of it behind them the grey ne had crept higher and higher deepening into a delicate rose pink with the n like rays of the invisible sun shooting and quivering across it then suddenly they felt its warm touch upon their backs and there were hard black shadows upon the sand in ont of them the loosened their and proceeded to talk cheerily among themselves the also began to and eagerly ate the which was served out for their a short halt had been called and a cup of water handed to each can i speak to you colonel asked the the tragedy of the no you can t snapped the colonel but it is very important all our safety may come from it the colonel frowned and pulled at his moustache well what is it he asked at last you must trust to me for it is as much to	4
that any the tragedy of the creed which turns out such beauties as him and that other the black beard must claim the attention of every one with bows and of his hands the explained that the were already full of doubt and that it needed but a little more light of knowledge to guide them on to the path of the two their and suspiciously at them then spoke in his stem to the and the two strode away together an instant later the rang out as a signal to mount what he says is this explained as he rode in the middle of the prisoners we shall reach the by mid day and there will be a rest his own a very good and learned man will come to give you an of teaching at the end of that time you will choose one way or the other when you have chosen it will be decided whether you are to go to or to be put to death that is his last word they won t take would but the is a terrible man i advise you to give in to him what have you done yourself you are a christian too blushed as deeply as his complexion would allow i was yesterday morning perhaps i will be to morrow morning i serve the lord as long as what he ask seem reasonable but this is very otherwise he rode onward amongst the guards with a w the tragedy of the freedom which showed that his change of faith had put him upon a very different footing to the other prisoners so they to have a of a few hours they rode in that dark shadow of death which was closing in upon them what is there in life that we should to it so it is not the es for those whose are one long pain shrink away screaming when they see merciful death his soothing arms out for them it is not the associations for we will change all of them before we walk of our own free down that broad road which every son and daughter of man must tread is it the fear of losing the i that dear intimate i which we think we know so well it is doing things which surprise us is it that which makes the deliberate cling madly to the bridge pier as the river sweeps him by or is it that nature is so afraid that all her weary workmen may suddenly throw down their tools and strike that she has invented this of keeping them constant to their present work but there it is and all these tired harassed folk rejoiced in the few more hours of which were left to them l chapter vii was nothing to show them as they onward that they were not on the very spot that they had passed at sunset upon the evening before the re on of fantastic black hills and orange sand which bordered the river had long been left behind and now was the same brown rolling plain the with uie rounded pebbles upon its surface and the occasional little of grass behind and before it extended to where far away in front of them it upward toward a of violet hills the sun was not high enough to cause the tropical and the wide brown with its violet stood out with a hard clearness in that dry pure air the long along at the slow swing of the far out on the rode the es halting at eveiy rise and backward with their hands their eyes in the distance their and seemed to stick out of them straight and thin like needles in knitting how far do you suppose we are from the asked he rode with his chin on his shoulder and his eyes straining to the eastern sky line a good fifty miles answered not so much as that said the colonel we could not have been moving more than fourteen l c c the tragedy of the or fifteen hours and a seldom goes than two and a half miles an hour unless he is trotting that would give about forty miles but still it is i fear rather far for a rescue i don t that we are much the better for this what have we to hope for we may just as well take our never say die cried the cheery there s plenty of time between this and mid day and of the corps are good boys and they ll be after us like a streak they ll have no baggage to hold them back you can lay your life on that i little did i think when i dined with them at mess that last ni ht and they were telling me all their precautions a that i should depend upon them for our lives well we ll play the game out but i m not very of course we must keep the best ce we can before the women i see that is as good as his word for those five and the two brown must be the men he speaks o they all ride together and keep well up but i can t see how they are going to help us i ve got my pistol back and his square chin strong mouth set like granite if they try any games on the women i mean to shoot them all three with my own hand and then we ll die with our minds easy good said and they rode on in silence none of them spoke much a curious dreamy feeling crept over them it was as if they had all taken some the merciful which nature uses when the tragedy of the a great crisis has fretted the nerves too r they thought of their friends and of their past lives in the	4
comprehensive way in which one views that which is completed a subtle sweetness mingled with the sadness of their te they were with the quiet serenity of despair it s devilish pretty said the colonel looking about him i always had an idea that i should like to die in a real good yellow london fog you couldn t change for the worse i should have to have died in my sleep said how beautiful to wake up and find yourself in the other world there was a piece that smith used to say at the college say not good night but in some brighter world wi me f od the shook her head at tlie idea it s a terrible thing to go unprepared into the presence of your maker said she it s the loneliness of death that is terrible said mrs if we and those whom we loved all passed over simultaneously we should think no more of it than of changing our house if the worst comes to the worst we won t be lonely said her husband well all go together and we shall find brown and and waiting on the other side the frenchman shrugged his shoulders he had no belief in after death but he envied the two the quiet way in which they took things for granted he chuckled to think of what his friends in the would say if they learned that he had laid down his life for uie christian faith sometimes it amused and sometimes it him and he rode onward with alternate l c g c the tragedy of the of laughter and of nursing his wounded all the time like a with a sick baby across the brown of the hard desert there had been visible for some time a single long thin yellow streak extending north and south as for as th could see it was a band of sand not more than a few hundred yards across and at the highest to eight or ten feet but the prisoners were astonished to observe that the pointed at this with an air of the utmost concern and they halted when they came to the edge of it uke men upon the of an river it was very light dusty sand and every wandering breath of wind sent it dancing into the air like a whirl of the tried to force his into it but the creature after a step or two stood still and shivered with terror the two talked for a little and then the whole off with their heads for the north and the streak of sand upon their left what is it asked who found the riding at his elbow why are we going out of our course drift sand answered every sometimes the wind bring it all in one long place like that to morrow if a wind comes perhaps there will not be one grain left but au will oe carried up into the ur an sometimes have to go fifty or a hundred miles to go round a drift suppose he tries to cross his breaks its legs and ne himself is sucked in and swallowed how long will this be no one can say well it s su in our the longer the chase the better chance for the fresh the tragedy of the t and for the time he looked back at the long bard sky line behind them was the great empty coloured desert but where the of steel or the twinkle of white for which he and soon they cleared the obstacle in their front it away into nothing as a streak of dust would which has been blown across an empty it was curious to see that when it was so narrow that one could almost jump it the would still go for many hundreds of yards rather than risk l e crossing then with good hard country before them once more the tired beasts were whipped up and they on with a double trot which set the prisoners nodding and bowing in grotesque and ludicrous misery it was at and they smiled at each other but soon the fun had become tragedy as the terrible ache seized them by and waist with its deep dull throb which rises gradually to a agony i can t stand it cried miss suddenly ive done my best i m going to fell no no break your limbs if you do hold up just a little and maybe th ll stop lean back and hold your saddle behind the colonel there find that will ease the strain he took the from his hat and tying the ends together be it over her front put your foot in the said he it will steady you like a the relief was instant so did the same for but presently one of the weary came down with a crash its limbs l the tragedy of the out as if it had split asunder and the had to come down to its old sober s it is this another belt of dim sand asked the colonel no it s white said here what is that in ont of us but the shook liis head i don t know what it is sir i never saw the same thing before right across the desert from north to south was drawn a white line as straight and clear as if it had been with chalk across a brown table it was very thin but it extended without a break from horizon to horizon said something to the it s the great route said what it white then the bones it seemed incredible and yet it was true fc as they drew nearer saw that it was indeed a beaten track across the desert out by long and so covered with bones that they the impression of a continuous white ribbon heads were	4
scattered everywhere and ihe lines of ribs were so continuous that it looked in like the of a monstrous serpent the endless road in the sun as if it were paved with ivory for thousands of years this had been the highway over the desert and during all that time no of all those countless had died there without being preserved by the dry air no wonder then that it was hardly possible to walk down it now without treading upon their this must be the route i of said the tragedy of the i mu it upon the map i made for you miss says that it has been on account of the of all trade which followed the rise of the but that it used to be the main road by which the skins and of found their way down to lower egypt they looked at it with a curiosity for there was enough to them at present in their own tes the struck to the south along the old desert track and this of a road seemed to be a fitting avenue for that which awaited them at the end of it weary and weary dragged on together toward their miserable goal and now as the critical moment approached which was to decide their te colonel weighed down by his fears lest something terrible should be ll the women put his pride aside to the extent of asking the advice of the the fellow was a villain and a coward but at least he was an oriental and he understood the point of view his change of religion had brought him into closer contact with the and he had overheard their intimate talk s aristocratic nature fought hard before he could bring himself to ask advice om such a man and when he at last did so it was in the and most voice you know the and you have the same way of looking at things said he our object is to keep things going for another twenty four hours after that it does not much matter what us for we shall be out of the reach of rescue but how can we them off for another day l the tragedy of the you know my advice the answered i have ready answered it to you if you will all become as i you will certainly be carried to alive if you do not you will never leave our next place alive the colonel s well curved nose took a higher and an angry flush his thin cheeks he rode in silence for a little for his indian service had left him with a temper which had had an extra touch of added to it by his recent experiences it was some minutes before he could trust himself to reply we ll set that aside said he at last some things are possible and some are not this is not you need only pretend that s enough the colonel abruptly shrugged his shoulders what is the use of asking me if you become angry when i answer if you do not wish to do what i say then try your own attempt at least you cannot say that i have not done all i could to save you i m not angry the colonel answered after a pause in a more voice but this is down rather than we care to go now what i thought is this you might if you chose give this priest or who is coming to us a that we really are softening a bit upon the point i don t think considering the hole that we are in that there can be very much to that then when he comes we might play up and take an interest and ask for mere instruction and in that way hold the matter over for a day or two you that would be the best l the tragedy of the you will do as you like said i have told you once for ever what i think if you wish that i speak to the i will do so it is the little man with the grey beard upon the brown in there i may tell you that he has a name among them for the and he has a great pride in it so that he would certainly prefer that you were not injured if he thought that he might bring you into him that our minds are open then said the colonel i don t suppose the would have gone so r but now that he is dead i think we may stretch a point you him and if you work it well we will agree to forget what is past by the way has said anything no sir he has kept his men together but he does not understand yet how he can help you neither do i well you go to the and i u tell the others what we have agreed the prisoners all in the colonel s plan with the exception of the old new england lady who absolutely refused even to show any interest in the creed i g ess i am too old to bow the knee to she said the most that she would was that she would not openly interfere with which her companions might say or do and is to argue with the priest asked as they all rode together talking the matter over it is very important that it should be done in a natural way for if he thought that we were only trying to gain time he to have any more to say to us the tragedy of the i think should do it as the proposal is his said pardon me i cried the frenchman i will not say a word against our mend the colonel but it is not possible that a man should be	4
fitted for everything it will all come to nothing if be attempts it the priest will see through the colonel will he said the colonel with dignity yes my friend he will for like most of your countrymen you are veiy wanting in sympathy for the ideas of other people and it is the great which i find with you as a nation oh drop the politics cried impatiently i do not talk politics what i say is very practical how can colonel pretend to this priest that he is really interested in his religion when in effect there is no religion in the world to him outside some little church in which he has been bom and bred i will say this for the colonel that i do not believe he is at all a and i am that he could not act well enough to deceive such a man as this priest the colonel sat with a stiff back and the blank ce of a man who is not quite sure he is being or insulted you can do the talking if you like said he at last i should be very glad to be relieved of it i think that i am best fitted for it since i am equally interested in all when i ask for information it is because in i desire it and not because i am playing a part i certainly think that it would be much better the tragedy of the if would undertake it mrs with decision and so the matter was sun was now high and it shone with dazzling brightness upon the bones which lay upon the road again the torture of thirst fell upon the little group of and again as they rode with withered tongues and lips a vision of the saloon of the danced like a before their eyes and they saw the white the wine cards by the places the long necks of the bottles the upon the who had borne up so well became suddenly hysterical and her shrieks of senseless laughter horribly upon their nerves her aunt on one side of her and mr on the other did all they could to soothe her and at last the weary over girl into something between a sleep and a faint hanging limp over her and only kept from falling the friends who clustered round her the baggage were as weary as their and and again they had to jerk at their nose ropes to prevent them from lying down from horizon to horizon stretched one huge arch of blue and up its monstrous crept the inexorable sun like some splendid but barbarous deity who claimed a tribute of human suffering as his right their course still lay along the old trade route but their was very slow and more than the two rode together and shook their heads as they looked at the weary ba on which the prisoners were perched tiie greatest of all was one which was ridden by a wounded soldier it was the tragedy of the badly with a strained and it was only by constant that it could be kept with the others the raised his as the creature past and sent a bullet through its brain the wounded man flew forward out of the high saddle and fell heavily upon the hard track his companions in misfortune looking back saw him to his feet with a dazed race at the same instant a slipped down from his with a sword in his band don t look i don t look cried to the ladies and they all rode on with their to the south they no sound but the passed them a few minutes afterward he was cleaning his sword upon the hairy neck of his and be glanced at them with a quick malicious gleam of liis teeth as he trotted by but those who are at the lowest pitch of human misery are at least secured against the future that vicious threatening which might once have thrilled them left them now unmoved or stirred them at most to vague resentment there were many things to interest them in this old trade route had they been in a condition to take notice of them here and there along its course were the crumbling remains of ancient buildings so old that no date could be assigned to them but designed in some far off to give the travellers shade firom the sun or protection from the ever lawless children of the desert the mud bricks with which these were constructed showed that the material had been carried over m the distant once upon the top of a little they saw the shattered of a pillar of red granite with the wide winged l the tragedy of the of the god across it and the of the second after three thousand years one cannot get away the of the warrior king it is surely the most wonderful of history that one should still be able to gaze upon him high and as he with his powerful arms crossed his chest majestic even in decay in the museum to the the was a message of as a sign they were not the sphere of egypt they ve left their card here once and they may again said and they all tried to smile and now they came upon one of the most ing sights on which the human eye can ever rest here and there in the at either side of the road there had been a thin of green which meant that water was not very far from the ce and then quite suddenly the track dipped down into a bowl shaped hollow with a dainty group of palm trees and a lovely at the bottom of it the sim upon that brilliant patch of clear colour with the dark glow of the bare desert around it made	4
it shine the purest in a setting of copper and then it was not its beauty rally but its promise for the ture water shade all weary travellers could ask for even was revived w the cheery sight and the spent and stepped out more briskly stretching their long necks and the air as they went after the of the desert it seemed to all of them that they had never seen anything more beautiful than this they looked below at the with the dark the tragedy of the like shadows of the palm crowns and then th looked up at those deep green leaves ag the rich blue of the sky forgot their impending death in the of that nature to whose bosom they were about to return the in the centre of the grove consisted of seven large and two small uke filled with coloured water enough to form a plentiful supply for any and men drank it though it was by the all the were the threw their sleeping down in the shade and the prisoners after receiving a of dates and of were told that they might do what they would during the heat of the day and that the would come to them before sunset the ladies were given the thicker shade of an tree and the men lay down under the palms the great green leaves slowly above them they heard the low hum of the talk and the dull of the and then in an instant by that most mysterious and least understood of miracles one was in a green irish valley and another saw the long straight line of avenue and a third was dining at a little round table opposite to the bust of in the army and navy club and for him the of the palm branches bad been transformed into the drawn hum of pall so the spirits went several ways wandering back along strange tracks of the memory while weary bodies lay senseless under the palm trees in the of the desert chapter viii was awakened from his slumber by some one pulling at his shoulder as his eyes opened they fell upon the black anxious ice of the old egyptian his crooked fin was laid upon ms thick ever lips and his dark eyes glanced from left to right with ceaseless vi lie quiet do not move he whispered in i will lie here beside you and they cannot tell me from the others you can understand what i am saying yes if you will talk slowly ve good i have no great trust in this black man i had rather talk direct with the what have you to say i have waited long until they should all be asleep and now in another hour we shall be called to evening prayer first of all here is a pistol that you may not say that you are without arms it was a clumsy old fashioned thing but the colonel saw the of a cap upon the and knew that it was loaded he slipped it the inner pocket of his thank you said he speak slowly so that i may you there are eight of us who wish to go to there are also four men in your party one of us am has fastened twelve the tragedy of the which are the of all save only those which are ridden by the there are guards upon watch but are scattered in all directions the twelve are close beside us here those twelve behind the if we can only get mounted and started i do not think that many can overtake us and we shall have our for them the guards are not strong enough to stop so of us the water skins are all filled and we the again by to morrow night the colonel could not follow it but he understood enough to set a little spring of hope in his heart the last terrible day had left its mark in his livid and his hair which was turning rapidly to grey he might have been the father of the well preserved soldier who had paced with straight back and military stride up and down the saloon deck of the that is excellent said he but what are we to do about the three ladies the black soldier shrugged his shoulders i said he one of them is old and in any case there are plenty more women if we get back to egypt these will not come to any hurt but they will oe placed in the of the what you say is nonsense said the colonel sternly we shall take our women with us or we shall not go at all i think it is rather you who talk the thing without sense the black man answered angrily how can you ask my companions and me to do that which must end in for years we have waited for such a chance as this and now that it has come you wish us to throw it away owing to this foolishness about the women lu j the tragedy of the what have we promised you if we come back to egypt asked two hundred egyptian pounds and promotion in the army all upon the word of an englishman very good then you shall have three hundred each if you can make some new plan by which you take the women with you scratched his head in his perplexity we might indeed upon some excuse bring three more of the round to this place indeed there are three very good among those which are near the cooking fire but how are we to get the women upon them and if we had them upon them we know very well that they would fall off when they began to gallop i fear that you men will for it is no easy	4
matter to remain upon a galloping but as to the women it is impossible no we shall leave the women and if you will not leave the women then we shall leave all of you and start by ourselves very good i go i said the colonel abruptly and settled down as if to sleep once more he knew that with it is the silent man who is most to have his way the negro turned and crept away for some little distance where he was met by one of his comrades who had charge of the the two argued for some little time for those three hundred golden pieces were not to be resigned then the negro crept back to colonel ah has agreed said he he has gone to put the nose rope upon three more of the the tragedy of the but it is foolishness and we are all going to our death now come with me and we shall awaken the women and tell them the colonel shook his companions and whispered to them what was in the wind ana were ready for any risk to whom the prospect of a passive death presented terror was seized with a of fear when he thought of any active exertion to avoid it and shivered m all his long thin limbs then he pulled out his and began to write his will upon the fly leaf but his hand so that it was hardly by some strange of the legal mind a death even by violence if accepted quietly had a place in the es order of things while a death which overtook one galloping over a desert was wholly irregular and it was not dissolution which he feared out the humiliation and agony of a fruitless le it colonel and had crept together undo the shadow of the great tree to the spot where the women were lying and her aunt lay with their arms round each other the girl s head upon the old woman s bosom mrs was awake and entered into the scheme in an instant but you must leave me said miss earnestly what does it matter at my anyhow no no aunt i won t move without you don t you think it cried the girl you ve got to come straight away or else we both stay ri t here where we are come come ma am there is no time for the tragedy of the ing said the colonel roughly our lives all depend upon your an and we cannot possibly leave you but i will oflf i ll tie you on with my i wish i had the which lent poor now i think we mi t make a break for iti but the black soldier had been staring with a face out over the desert and he turned upon his heel with an oath there said he sullenly you see what comes of all your foolish talking i you have ruined our chances as weu as your own i half b dozen mounted men had appeared suddenly over the of the bowl shaped standing out hard and clear against the evening sky where the copper basin met its great blue they were and waved their as they came an instant later the sounded an alarm and the camp was up with a like an bee hive the colonel ran back to his companions and the black soldier to his looked relieved and sulky while with his one hand in the air sacred name of a dog i he cried is there no end to it then are we never to come out of the hands of these accursed oh they really are are they said the colonel in an voice you seem to be your opinions i thought they were an invention of the british government the poor fellows were getting and thin the colonel s sneer was a match to the tragedy of the a and in an instant the frenchman was dancing in front of him with a broken torrent of angry words his hand was clutching at s throat before and could pull him off if it were not for your grey hairs he said damn your impudence cried the colonel if we have to die let us die like gentlemen and not hke so many comer boys said with dignity i only said i was glad to see that had learned from his adventures the colonel sneered shut up i what do you want to him for i cried the upon my word you forget yourself i do not permit people to address me in this you should look after your own manners then gentlemen gentlemen here are the ladies i cried and the angry over strained men a gloomy pacing up and down and at their it is a very catching thing ill temper for even began to be angry at their anger and to at them as they passed him here they were at a crisis in their late with the shadow of death above them and yet their minds were all absorbed in some personal grievance so that they could hardly put it into words misfortune brings the human spirit to a rare height but the still but soon their attention was drawn away to more matters a council of war was the tragedy of the being held beside the wells and tjie two stern and composed were to a report from the leader of the the prisoners noticed that though the fierce old man stood like a the younger passed his hand over his beard once or twice with a nervous gesture the thin brown fingers among the long black hair i believe the are after us said not very fa off either to judge by the th are making it looks like it something has scared now he s giving orders what can it be here what is	4
the matter the came running up with the light of hope upon his brown e i they seen something to ten them i believe that the soldiers are behind us they have given the order to fill the water skins and be for a start when the darkness comes but i am ordered to gather you together for the is coming to convert you all i have told him that you are all very much inclined to think the same with him how r may have gone with his assurances may never be known but the preacher came walking toward them at this moment with a paternal and contented smile upon his ce as one who has a pleasant and ea task before him he was a one eyed man with a fringe of beard and a face which was t but which looked as if it had once been for it was marked with many folds and he had a green upon his head which marked him as a pilgrim in one hand he carried a the tragedy of the small carpet and in the other a copy of the laying his carpet upon the ground he to his side and then gave a circular sweep of his arm to signify that the prisoners should gather round him and a downward wave which meant that they should be seated so they themselves round him sitting on the short green under the these seven forlorn representatives of an alien creed and in the midst of them sat the fat little preacher his one eye dancing from ce to face as he the principles of his and more earnest they listened attentively and nodded their heads as translated the and with each sign of their acquiescence the became more amiable in his manner and more affectionate in his speech for why should you die my sweet when all that is asked of you is you should set aside that which will carry you to everlasting and accept the law of as written by his prophet which will assuredly bring you joys as is promised in the book of the for what says the chosen one and he broke away into one of those which pass in every creed as an argument besides is it not clear gk d is with us since from the when we had but sticks against tiie of the has always been with us have we not taken ei and taken and destroyed and slain and prevailed against every one who has come against us how then can it be said that the blessing of does not rest upon us the colonel had been looking about him during the tragedy of the the lone of the and he had observed that the were cleaning guns counting their and making ail the preparations of men who expected that they might soon be called upon to fight the two were together with grave faces and the leader of the pointed as he spoke to them in the direction of egypt it was evident that there was at least a chance of a rescue if they could only keep things going for a few more hours the were not recovered yet from their long march and the if they were indeed close behind were almost certain to overtake them for god s sake try and keep him in play sad he i believe we a tf we can only keep the ball rolling for another hour or so but a s wounded dignity is not so easily appeased sat with his the palm tree and his black brows drawn down he said nothing but he still pulled at his thick strong moustache come on i we depend upon you d let colonel do it the frenchman answered he takes too much upon himself colonel there there said as if he were speaking to a child i am quite sure that the colonel will express his regret at what has happened and will acknowledge that he was in the wrong i ll do nothing of the snapped the colonel besides that is merely a personal quarrel the tragedy of the continued hastily it is for the good of the whole party that we wish you to speak with the we all feel that you are the best man for the job but the frenchman only shrugged his shoulders and ed into a deeper gloom the looked from one to the other and the kindly expression began to fade away from his ce his mouth drew down at the comers and became hard and severe hare these been playing with us then said he to the why is it that they talk among themselves and have nothing to say to me he is getting impatient about it perhaps i better do what i can since this damned fellow has left us in the but the ready wit of a woman saved the situation i am sure said mrs that you who are a frenchman and a man of gallantry and would not permit own wounded feelings to interfere with the of your promise and your duty toward three helpless ladies was on his feet in an instant with his hand over his heart you understand my nature madame he cried i am incapable of a lady i will do all that i can in this matter now you may tell the holy man that i am ready to discuss through you the high matters of his with him and he did it with an ingenuity which amazed the of the his companions he took the tone of a man who is strongly attracted and yet has one single remaining of doubt to hold him back yet as that one was torn away by the there was always some other stubborn uttle point which prevented his absolute acceptance of the faith or and his questions were all so mixed up with personal	4
compliments to the priest and self congratulations that they should have come under the of so wise a man and so profound a that the hanging the eyes quivered with his satisfaction and he was led and hope onward om explanation to explanation while the blue overhead turned into violet and the green leaves into black until the great serene stars shone out once more between the crowns of the as to the of which you speak my lamb said the in answer to some argument of s i have myself studied at the university of ei at and i know that to which you allude but the learning of the is not as the learning of the mid it is not fitting that we too deeply into the ways of some stars tails o my sweet lamb and some have not but what does it profit us to know which are which for god made them all and they are very safe in his hands therefore my friend be not puffed up by the foolish learning of the west and understand that there is only one wisdom which consists in following the will of as his ch en prophet has laid it down for us in this book and now my i see that you are ready to come into the of the and it is time for that tells that we axe about to march and it was the order of the excellent that your choice should be taken one way or the other before ever we left the wells yet my ther there are other points upon which i would gladly have instruction said the frenchman for indeed it is a pleasure to hear your clear words after the cloudy accounts whidi we have had from other teachers but the had risen and a gleam of suspicion in his single eye this further instruction may well come afterward said he since we shall travel together as r as and it will be a joy to me to see you grow in wisdom and in virtue as we go he walked over to the fire and stooping down witli the of a stout man he returned with two half sticks which he laid upon the ground the came over to see the new admitted into the fold they stood round in the dim light tall and with the high necks and heads of the above them now said the and his voice had lest its and tone there is no more time for you here upon the ground i have made out of two sticks the foolish and superstitious symbol of your former creed you will upon it as a sign that you it and you will kiss the as a sign that you accept it and what more you need in the way of instruction shall be given to you as you go they stood up the four men and the three women to meet tiie of their te none of the tragedy of the them except perhaps miss and mrs had any deep religious convictions all of them were children of this world and some of them with everything which that symbol upon the earth represented but there was the european pride the pride of the white race which swelled within them and held them to the of their countrymen it was a sinful human motive and yet it was about to make them public to the christian creed in the hush and of their nerves low sounds w suddenly loud upon their ears those palm leaves above them were like a river and far away they could hear the dull soft of a galloping there s coming whispered try and them off for minutes longer the frenchman stepped out with a courteous wave of his arm and the air of a man who is prepared to accommodate himself to anything you will tell this holy man that i am quite ready to accept his teaching and so i am sure are all my said he to the but there is one thing which i should wish him to do in order to set at rest any possible doubts which may remain in our hearts every true can be told by the miracles which those who profess it can bring about even i who am but a humble christian can by virtue of my religion do some of these but you since your religion is superior can no doubt do far more and so i beg to give us a sign that we may be able to say that we know that the religion of is the more powerful the tragedy of the all his dignity and reserve the has a good of curiosity the hu among the listening showed how the words of the frenchman as translated by appealed to them such things are in the hands of said the priest it is not for us to disturb his laws but if you have yourself such powers as you claim let us be witnesses to them the frenchman stepped forward and raising his hand he took a large shining date out of the s beard this ne swallowed and immediately produced once more from his left elbow he had often ven his little entertainment on board uie boat and passengers had had some good natured laughter at his expense for he was not quite to deceive the critical european intelligence but now it looked as if this piece of obvious might be the point which all their would hang a deep hum of surprise rose from the ring of ana deepened as the drew another date from the of a and tossed it into the air from which apparently it never descended that gaping sleeve was obvious enough to his companions but the dim light was all in of the so delighted and interested was the audience that they paid little heed to a	4
mounted man who trotted swiftly between the palm trunks all might have been well had not carried away by his own success tried to repeat his trick once more with the result that the date fell out of his palm and the deception stood revealed in vain he tried to pass on at once to another of his little stock the said something and an the tragedy of the struck across the shoulders with thick shaft of his spear we have had enough child s play said the angry priest are we men or that you should try to impose upon us in this manner here is the cross ana the which shall it be looked helplessly round at his companions i can do no more you asked for five minutes you have had them said he to colonel and it is enough the soldier answered here are the the man whose approach they had heard from a r had made for the two and had a brief report to them with his forefinger in the direction from which he had come there was a rapid exchange of words between the and then they strode forward together to the group around the prisoners and they were none the less two most majestic men as they advanced the ht of tiie palm grove the fierce old raised his hand and spoke swiftly in short abrupt sentences and his savage followers to him like hounds to a the fire that in his eyes shone back at him from a hundred others here were to be read the strength and danger of the movement here in these faces in that fringe of waving arms in these frantic red hot souls who ask nothing better a bloody death if their own hands might be bloody when they met it have the prisoners embraced the true ith asked the looking at them with his cruel eyes the tragedy of the the had his r to preserve and it was not for him to confess to a failure they were about to embrace it when let it rest for a little time o he gave an order and the all sprang for the off at once with nearly half the party the others were mounted and ready with their what s happened asked things are looking up cried the colonel by george i think we are going to come through all right the corps are hot on our trail how do you know what else could have them o colonel do you really think we shall be saved sobbed the dull routine of through which th y had passed had their nerves until they seemed incapable of any acute sensation but now this sudden return of hope brought agony with it like the recovery of a limb even the strong self contained was filled with doubts and apprehensions he had been hopeful when there was no sign of relief and now the approach of it set him trembling surely they wouldn t come very weak he cried be jove if the let them come weak he should be sure we re in s hands anyway said his wife in her soothing irish voice kneel down with me john dear if it s the last time and pray that earth or heaven we may not be divided don t do that i don t i cried the anxiously for he saw that the eye of the was upon but it was too late for the two the tragedy of the roman had dropped upon their knees and crossed themselves a of passed over the of the priest at this public testimony to the failure of ms missionary efforts he turned and said something to the stand up i cried for your life s sake stand up i he is asking for leave to put you to let him do what he likes i said the obstinate we will rise when our prayers are finished and not before the stood listening to the with his gaze upon the two kneeling figures then he gave one or two rapid orders and four were brought forward the baggage which they had hitherto ridden were sending where they had been don t be a fool i cried the colonel everything depends upon our them do get up mrs i you are only putting backs up t the shrugged his shoulders as he looked at them mon he cried were there ever such people he added with a as the two american ladies fell upon their knees beside mrs it is like the one down all down i was ever anything so absurd but mr had knelt down beside and buried his haggard face in his long thin hands only the colonel and remained standing looked at the frenchman with an eye after all said he it is stupid to pray all your life and not to pray now when we have nothing to the tragedy of the hope for except the goodness of providence he dropped u n his knees with a rigid military back but chin upon bis chest the frenchman looked at his companions and then his eyes travelled onward to the angry faces of the and he growled do they suppose that a frenchman is afraid of them and so with an sign of the cross he took his place upon his knees beside the others foul and wretched the seven figures knelt and waited humbly for their fate under the black shadow of tree the turned to the with a mocking smile and pointed at the results of his then he gave an order and in an instant the four men were seized a couple of turns with a secured each of their wrists screamed out for the rope had bitten into his open wound the others took it with the of despair you have ruined i believe you have ruined me also cried wringing	4
his hands the are to get upon these three never i cried we won t be separated i he plunged madly but he was weak from and two strong men held him by each elbow don t fret john i cried his wife as they her toward the no harm shall come to me don t le or hurt you dear the four men as they saw the women dragged away from them all their agonies had been nothing to and her aunt ap the tragedy of the to be half senseless from fear only mrs kept a brave ce when were seated the rose and were led under the tree behind where the four men were standing i ve a pistol in me pocket said up at wife would give me soul to be awe to pass it to you keep it john and it may be useful yet i have no fears ever since we prayed i have felt as if our guardian angels had their wings round us she was like a guardian angel herself as she turned to the shrinking and some little hope back into her despairing heart the short thick who had been in command of s had joined the and the the three consulted together with occasional glances toward the prisoners then the spoke to the chief wishes to know which of you four is the richest man said the his fingers were with and in at the front of his cover coat why does he wish to know asked the colonel i do not know but it is evident cried he wishes to know which is the best worth keeping for his i think we should see this thing through together said the it s for you to decide for i have no doubt that you are the richest of us i don t know that i am the lawyer answered but in any case have no wish to be placed upon a different footing to the others the spoke again in his harsh m the tragedy of the he says translated that the baggage are spent and that there is only one beast left which can keep up it is ready now for one of you and you have to decide yourselves which is to have it if one is richer the others he will have the preference tell him that we are all equally rich in that case he says that you are to choose at once which is to have the and the others the ed his shoulders well said the colonel if only one of us is to escape i think you fellows will agree with me that it ought to be since he is the married man yes yes let it be cried i think so also said but the would not hear of it no no share and share alike he cried all sink or all swim and the devil take the they among themselves they became quite heated in this struggle of some one had said that the should go because he was the and the colonel was a very angry man one would think i was an he cried these remarks are quite for well then said let us all refuse to go but this is not very wise cried the see my friends i here are the ladies being carried off alone surely it would be far better that one of us should be with them to advise them the tragedy of the they looked at one another in perplexity what said was obviously true out how could one of them desert his comrades the himself su the solution the chief says said that if you cannot settle who is to go you had better leave it to and draw lots i don t think we can do better said the colonel and his three companions nodded their assent it was the who approached them with four of palm bark from between fingers he says he who draws the longest has the says we must agree to abide absolutely by this said and again his companions nodded the had formed a in front of them with a fringe of the heads of the before them was a cooking fire which threw its red over the group the was standing with his back to it and his fierce face toward the prisoners behind the four men was a line of and behind them again the three women who looked down from their upon this tr with a malicious smile the fat advanced with his fist closed and the four httle brown fi t m between his fingers it was to that he held them first the gave an involuntary groan and his wife behind him for the came away in his then it was the frenchman s turn and his was half an inch longer than s then came colonel whose piece was longer than the two put together s was l the tragedy of the no bi er than s the colonel was the of this terrible you re welcome to my place said he ive neither wife nor child and hardly a friend in the world go with your wife and stay no indeed i an agreement is an agreement it s all play and the prize to the the says that you are to mount at once said and an drag ed the colonel by his wrist rope to the waiting he will stay with the said the to his lieutenant you can keep women with you also and this dog put him with the others and they put them all to death chapter ix as none of the three could understand the order of the would have been to them had it not been for the conduct of the unfortunate after all his treachery and all his and found ms worst fears when the x lead gave his with	4
a shriek of fear the poor wretch threw himself forward upon his face and clutched at the s with his brown fingers at the edge of the cotton skirt the to free himself and then finding that he was still held by that grip hie turned and kicked at with the vicious impatience with which one drives off a cur the s high red new up into the air and ne lay groaning upon his ce the blow of the s foot had left him all was bustle and movement in the camp for the old had mounted his and some of his party were already beginning to follow their the the and about a dozen surrounded the prisoners they had not mounted their for they were told off to be the ministers of death the three men understood as they looked upon their that the sand was running very low in the glass of their lives their hands were still bound but their guards had ceased to hold them the tragedy of the they turned round all three and said good bye to the women upon the all up now said it s hard luck when there was a chance of a rescue but we ve done our best for the first time his wife had i down she was sobbing with her face between her hands don t cry little woman i we ve had a good time together give my love to all friends at i me to and to the you ll find there is enough and to spare but i would take s advice about the mind that i o john i won t live without you sorrow for her sorrow broke the strong man down and he buried his face in the hairy side of her the two of them sobbed helplessly together meanwhile had pushed his way to beast she saw his worn earnest looking up at her through the dim don t be afraid for your and for yourself said he i am sure that you will escape colonel will look after you the cannot be far behind i do hope you will have a good drink before you leave the wells i i s the early he spoke quietly like a man who is arranging the details of a a sudden glow of admiration for this quietly consistent man warmed her impulsive heart how unselfish you are she cried i never the tragedy of the saw any one like you talk about t there you stand in the very presence of death and you think only of us i want to say a last word to you if you don t mind i should die so much happier i have often wanted to speak to you but i thought that perhaps you would laugh for you never took anything very seriously did you that was quite natural of course your high spirits but still it was very serious to me but now i am really a dead man so it does not matter very much what i say oh don t mr cried the girl i won t if it is very painful to you as i said it would make me die happier but i don t want to be selfish about it if i thought it would your life afterward or be a sad recollection to you i would not say another word what did you wish to say it was only to tell you how i loved you i always loved you from the first i was a man when i was with you but of course it was absurd i knew that well enough i never said and i tried not to myself ridiculous but i just want you to know about it now that it can t matter one way or the other und stand that i really do love you when i tell you that if it were not that i knew you were frightened and unhappy these last two days in which we have been always together would have been infinitely the happiest of my life the girl sat pale and silent looking down with wondering eyes at his face she did not know what to do or say in the solemn presence of s love which burned so brightly the l the tragedy op the of death to her child s heart it seemed incomprehensible and yet she that it was sweet and i won t say any more said he i can see that it only you but wanted you to know and now you do know so it is all right thank you for listening so patiently and gently good bye little i can t put my up will you put yours down she did so and kissed it then he turned and took his place once more between and in his whole life of struggle and success he had never felt such a glow of contentment as him at that instant when the grip of death was closing upon him there is no arguing about love it is the fact of life the one which and changes all the others the only one which is absolutely satisfying and complete fain is pleasure and want is comfort and death is sweetness when once that golden mist is round it so it was that could have sung with joy as he faced his he really had not tune to think about them the important all thing was that she could not look upon him as a any more through all her life she would think of him she would colonel s was at one side and the old soldier whose wrists had been freed had been looking down upon the scene and wondering in his way whether all hope must really be abandoned it was evident that the who were round the victims were to remain behind with them while	4
the others who were mounted would guard the three women and the tragedy of the he could not understand the throats of his companions had not been cut unless it were that with an eastern refinement of cruelty this would wait until the were close to them so that the warm bodies of their victims might be an insult to the no doubt that was the right explanation the colonel had heard of such a trick before but in that case would not be more than twelve with the prisoners were there any of the friendly ones them if and six of his men were there and if could get his arms free and his hand upon his re they might come through yet the colonel his neck and groaned in his disappointment he could see the of the guards in the they were all men who were beyond either pity or and the others must have gone on with the advance for the first time the stiff old soldier abandoned hope good bye you fellows god bless you he cried as a negro pulled at his s nose ring and made him follow the the women came after him in a too deep for words their departure was a relief to the three men who were left i am glad they are gone said from his heart yes yes it is better cried how long are we to wait not very now grimly as the closed m around them the colonel and the three women gave one backward glance when they came to the edge o the tragedy of the the between the straight stems of the they saw the gleam of me e and above the group of they caught a last glimpse of the three white hats an instant later the began to trot and when they looked back once more the palm grove was only a black with the vague twin of a somewhere m e heart of it as with yearning eyes they gazed at that throbbing red point in the darkness they passed over the edge of the depression and in an instant the huge silent desert was round them without a sign of the which they had left on every side the velvet blue black sky with its blazing stars downward to the vast coloured plain the two were into one at their point of the women had sat in the of despair and the colonel had been silent also for what could he say but suddenly all four started in their and gave a sharp cry of dismay in the hush of the night there fa come from behind them the crack of a rifle then another then several together with a brisk rat and thai after an interval one more it may be the it may be the mrs with a i of hope you think it may be the yes yes it must be the the colonel had listened but all was silent again then he took hat with a solemn gesture there is no use deceiving ourselves mrs said he we may as well ce the truth the tragedy of the our are gone from us but they have met their end like brave men but why should fire guns they had they had she as she said it that is true said the colonel i would not for the world take away any real grounds of hope which you may but on the other hand there is no use in preparing bitter disappointments for ourselves if we had been listening to an attack we should have heard some reply besides an egyptian attack would have b n an attack in no doubt it is as you say a uttle strange that they should have wasted their by jove look at that he was pointing over the eastern desert two figures were moving across its expanse and stealthily dark shadows against the ground they saw them dimly dipping and rising over the rolling desert now lost now in the li t they were flying away from the and then suddenly they halted upon the of a sand hill and the prisoners could see them against the sky they were men but they sat their as a sits his horse corps cried the colonel two men said miss in a voice of despair only a ma am i throwing out all over the desert this is one of them main body ten miles ofi as as not there they go the alarm i good old corps the self contained soldier had suddenly turned almost with his the tragedy of the ment there was a red flash upon the top of the sand hill and then another followed by the crack of e r es then with a the two figures were gone as swiftly and silently as two in a stream the had halted for an instant as if uncertain whether they should delay their journey to pursue them or not there was nothing left to pursue now for amid the of toe the have gone in any direction the back along the line with and orders then the began to trot and the hopes of the prisoners were by the agonies of the terrible mile after mile and mile after mile they sped onward over that vast expanse the women clinging as best they might to the the almost as spent as they but stiu keenly on the for any sign of uie i think i think cried mrs that something is moving in front of us the colonel raised himself upon his saddle and his eyes from the by jove you re right ma am are men over yonder they could all see them now a straggling line of far ahead of them in the desert th are going in the same direction as we cried mrs whose eyes were very better than	4
the colonel s muttered an oath into his moustache look at the tracks there said he of course it s our own ard who left the palm grove before us the chief keeps us at this pace in order to close up with them l the of the as drew closer they could see plainly that it was the other body of and presently the came trotting back to take counsel with the they pointed in the direction in which the had appeared and shook their heads like men who have many and grave then the joined into one long ing line and the whole body moved steadily on toward the southern cross which was twinkling just over the in front of them hour after hour the dreadful trot continued while the ladies clung on and worn out but encouraged them to hold out and peered backward over the desert for the first glad signs of their the blood in his temples and he cried that he heard the roll of drums coming out of the darkness in his feverish delirium he saw clouds of at very heels and during the long night he was for ever crying ad tidings which ended in disappointment and the rise of the sun showed the desert stretching away around them with nothing moving upon its monstrous ce except themselves with dull eyes and heavy hearts they stared round at that huge and empty expanse their hopes away like the light morning mist upon the horizon it was shocking to the ladies to look at their companion and to think of the hale old who had been their fellow passenger from as in the case of miss old age seemed to have upon him in one spring his hair which had hour by hour during his was now of a silvery white white the tragedy of the too had obscured the clean line of his chin and throat the veins of his were and his features were shot with he rode with his back arched and his chin sunk upon his breast for the old time body was worn out but in his bright alert eyes there was always a trace of the gallant tenant who lived in the shattered house spent and dying he preserved his protecting air as he turned to the ladies shot little scraps of advice and encouragement at them and peered back continually for the help which never came an hour after sunrise the called a halt and food and water were served out to all then at a more moderate pace they pursued their journey their long straggling line trailing out over a quarter of a mile of desert from their more careless bearing and the way in which they as th rode it was clear that they thought that they had shaken off their direction now was east as well as south and it was evidently their intention after this long to strike the at some point fer above the egyptian already the character of the was and they were losing the long of the desert and coming once more upon fantastic black rocks and that rich orange sand which they had already passed on every side of rose the hills with their loose like and jagged e ed with streams of sand running like water courses down their centre the followed each other twisting in and out among the and with their feet over places which would have been the tragedy of the for horses among the broken rocks those behind could sometimes only see the long darting necks of the creatures in front as if it were some of indeed it had much the effect of a dream upon the prisoners for there was no sound save the soft dull and shuffling of the feet the strange wild moved and silently onward amid a setting of black stone and sand with the one arch of vivid blue the rugged edges of the miss who had been frozen into silence the long cold night began to now in the cheery warmth of the rising sun she looked about her and rubbed her thin together why she remarked i thought i heard tou in the night dear and now i see that you been crying i have been thinking well we must try think of others and not of ourselves it s not of myself never fi about me no i was not thinking of you was it of any one in particular of mr how gentle he was and how brave i to think of him fixing up every little thing for us and to pull his jacket over his poor up with those waiting all round he s my saint and hero from now ever after well he s out of his troubles anyhow said miss with that which the years them then i wish i was also the tragedy of the i don t see how that would help him well i think he might feel less and drooped her little chin upon her breast the four had been in silence for some little time when the colonel clapped his hand to bis brow with a gesture of dismay good he cried i am going off my head and again they had perceived it during the ni t but he had seemed quite rational since daybreak they were shocked therefore at this sudden outbreak and tried to calm him with soothing words mad as a he shouted whatever do you think i saw don t trouble about it whatever it was said mrs laying her hand soothingly upon his as the closed together it is no wonder that you are you have thought and worked for all of us so long we shall hut presently and a few hours will quite restore you but the colonel looked up again and he cried out in a and surprise i never saw anything in my hfe	4
he groaned it is on the point of rock on our right front poor old with my red round his head just the same as we left him the ladies had followed the direction of the colonel s frightened gaze and in an instant they were all as amazed as he there was a black ridge like a upon the ri t side of the terrible up which the were winding at one point it rose the tragedy op the into a small on this stood a solitary motionless figure clad entirely in black save for a brilliant dash of scarlet upon bis head there could not surely be two such short sturdy figures or such faces in the desert his shoulders were stooping forward and he seemed to be staring intently down into the his pose and were like a of the great napoleon can it possibly be he it must be it is cried the ladies you see he is looking toward us and waving his hand heavens i shoot him i get down you fool or you ll be shot roared the colonel but his dry throat would only a several of the had seen the singular apparition upon the hill and had their out a long arm suddenly shot up behind the figure of the clergyman a brown hand seized upon his skirts and he disappeared with a snap higher up the pass just below the spot where mr had been standing appeared the tall figure of the he had sprung upon a and was shouting and waving his arms but the shouts were drowned in a long roar of from each side of the the like cliff was fringed with gun barrels with red over the from the other lip also came the long of and the angry clatter of the the were caught in an the fell but was up again and waving there was a of blood upon his long beard he kept pointing and u l the tragedy of he but his scattered followers could not understand what be wanted some of them came tearing down the pass and some from behind were pushing to the front a few dismounted and tried to climb up sword in hand to that deadly line of but one by one they were hit and came rolling from rock to rock to the bottom of the the shooting was not very good one negro made his way up the whole side only to have his brains dashed out with the butt end of a at the top the had fallen off his rock and lay in a heap like a brown and white patch work at the bottom of it and then when half of them were down it became evident even to those exalted souls that there was no chance for them and that they must get out of these fatal rocks and into the desert they galloped down the pass and it is a thing to see a galloping over broken ground the beast s own terror his bounds uie of his four legs all in the ai together his hideous cries and the of his rider who is hi from his saddle with e ry spring made a picture which is not to be n the women screamed as this mad torrent of creatures past them but the edged his and theirs and farther in among the rocks and away from the the air was foil of bullets they could hear them against the stones all round them keep quiet and they ll pass us whispered th colonel who was all himself again now that the hour for action had arrived to heaven i could see or any of his friends now the tragedy of the is the time for them to help us he watched the mad stream of as they flew past their loose be ts but the black ce of the egyptian was not among them and now it did really seem as if the whole body of them in their haste to get clear of the had not a thought to spend upon the prisoners the rush was past and only were running the of the fierce fire poured upon them from above the last of all a young with a black moustache and beard looked up as he passed and shook his sword in impotent passion at the egyptian at the same instant a bullet struck his and the creature all neck and le upon the ground the young sprang off its back and seizing its nose ring he beat it savagely with the flat of his sword to make it stand up but the dim eye told its own tale and in desert war re the death of the beast is the death of the rider the b glared round like a lion at bay his dark eyes n from und his red a crimson spot and then another sprang out upon his dark skin but he never at the bullet wounds his fierce gaze had upon the prisoners and with an shout he was dashing toward them his broad sword gleaming his head miss was the nearest to him but at the sight of the rushing figure and the face she threw herself m the upon the side the bounded on to a rock and aimed a thrust at mrs but before the point could reach her the colonel leaned with his pistol and blew the man s head in the tragedy of the yet with a concentrated rage which was to the agony of death the fellow lay and striking bounding about among tne loose like a fish upon the don t be frightened ladies cried the colonel he is quite dead i assure you i am so to have done this in your presence but the fellow was i a little score of my own to settle with him for he was the	4
man who tried to break my ribs with his i hope you are not hurt miss i one instant and i will come down to you but the old boston lady was by no means hurt for the rocks had been so nigh that she had a very short distance to fall from her saddle mrs and colonel had all descended by slipping on to the and climbing down from them but they found miss on her feet and waving the remains of her green veil in triumph i my own darling i she was shrieking we are saved my girl we are saved after all by george so we are cried the colonel and they ah shouted in an ecstasy together but had learned to think more about others during those terrible days of her am were round mrs and her cheek against hers you dear sweet angel she cried how can we have the heart to be you when you but i don t it is so cried uie brave no never it i see john s body lying before me and when i see that i don t want to to see anything more the tragedy of the the last had down the and now above them on either cm they could see the tall thin st shouldered figures looking when the blue sky wonderful like the warriors m the ancient their were in the background and they were hurrying to join them at the same time others began to ride down from the end of the their dark flushed and their eyes shining with the excitement of victory and pursuit a very small englishman with a straw coloured moustache and a weary manner was riding at the head of them he halted his beside the and saluted the ladies he wore brown and brown with steel which looked trim and against his uniform had em that time had em proper i said he very glad to have been of any assistance i m hope you re none the worse for it all what i mean it s rather rough work for ladies you re from i suppose asked the no we re from the other show we re the crowd you know we met in the desert and we headed em off and the other them behind we ve got em on toast i tell you get up on that rock and you ll see things happen it s to be a in me round this time we left some of our people at the wells we are very uneasy about them the colonel i suppose you have not heard anything of them the young officer looked serious and shook his l the tragedy of the head bad job said he they re a poisonous crowd when you put em in a what i mean we never expected to see you alive and we re very glad to pull any of you out of the fire the most we hoped was tliat we might revenge you any other englishman with you is with the party hell have to come past for i don t think there is any other way down we ve got one of your up there a funny old bird with a red top knot see you later i hope i gk od day ladies he touched his tapped his and trotted on after his men we can t do better than stay where we are until they are all past said the colonel for it was now that the men from above would have to come round in a broken single file they went past black men and brown and but all of the best for the corps is the corps d s te of the egyptian army each had a brown over ms chest and his rifle held across his a large man with a black moustache and a pair of in his hand was riding at the side of them i the colonel the officer looked at him with the vacant eye of a complete stranger i m you know we travelled up together excuse me sir but you have the of me said the officer i knew a colonel but you are not the man he was three inches taller than you with black and the tragedy of the that s all cried the colonel you try a few days with the and see if your friends will recognise you i god is it really you i not have believed it great scott what you must have been through i ve heard before of fellows going y in a night but by jove quite so said the colonel flushing allow me to hint to you that if you could get some food and drink f h these ladies instead of discussing my personal appearance it would be much more practical that s all right said captain your friend knows that you are here and he is bringing some round for you poor ladies but the best we have you re an old soldier up on the rocks presently and you ll see a lovely sight no time to stop for we shall be in action again in fire minutes anything i can do before i go you haven t got such a thing as a cigar asked the colonel drew a thick satisfying from his case and handed it down with half a dozen wax then he after his men and the old soldier leaned back against the rock and drew in the fragrant smoke it was then that his ed nerves knew the virtue of tobacco the gentle which stays the failing strength and the worrying brain he watched the dim blue up him and he felt the pleasant bite upon his while a languor crept over weary and harassed body the three la sat together upon a rock land what a sight you	4
are i cried the tragedy of the miss suddenly and it was the first of her old what your mother say if she saw you why your hair is full of straw and your frock clean crazy i guess we all want some setting to right said in a which was much more subdued than that of the of old mrs you look just too perfectly sweet anyhow but if you ll allow me fix your dress for you but mrs s eyes were far away and she shook her head sadly as she gently put the girl s hands aside i do not care how i look i cannot think of it said she could you if you had left the man you love you as i have mine i m begin beginning to think i have sobbed poor and buried her hot ce in mrs s bosom chapter x the corps had all passed onward down the in pursuit of the retreating and for a few minutes the escaped prisoners had left alone but now there came a voice calling upon them and a red about among the rocks with the large white of the minister smiling from beneath it he had a thick lance with which to support his injured leg and this with his peace m appearance to give him a most aspect as of a sheep which has suddenly developed claws behind him were two with a and a skin not a word not a word he cried as he up to them i know exactly how you feel i ve been there bring water i only half a cup miss you shall have some more presently now turn mrs i dear me dear me you poor souls how my heart does for you i there s bread and meat in the basket but you must be very moderate at first he chuckled with joy and his t hands together as he them but the others he asked his face turning grave a un the colonel shook his head we left them behind at the wells i fear that it is all over with them tut tut i cried the in a boisterous i c the tragedy of the voice which could not cover the despondency of his expression you thought no doubt that it was all over with me but i am in spite of it never lose heart mrs your husband s position could not possibly be as hopeless as mine was when i saw you standing on that rock up yonder i put it down to delirium said the colonel if the ladies had not seen you i should never have ventured to it i am afraid that i behaved very badly captain says that i nearly spoiled all their plans and that deserved to be tried by a court trial and shot the is that when i the beneath me i myself in my anxiety to know if any of you were left i wonder that you were not shot without any court martial said the colonel but how in the world did you get here the people were close upon our track at the time when i was abandoned and they picked me up in the desert i must have been i suppose for they tell me that they heard my voice singing hymns a long way on and it was that under the providence of god which t them to me they had a i was quite myself a in by next day i came with the people we met them because they have tlie doctor with my wound is nothing and he says that a man of my habit will be the better for the loss of and now my friends his big brown eyes lost their twinkle and became very solemn and we have all been u n the very of death and our dear companions may be so at this instant the same the tragedy of the power which saved us may save them and let us pray together that it may be so always remembering that if in spite of our prayers it should not be so then tiiat so must be accepted as the best and wisest thing so they knelt together among the black rocks and pr ed as some of them had never prayed before it was very well to discuss pray and treat it lightly and upon the deck of the it was easy to feel strong and self confident in the comfortable deck chair with the slip s red handing round the coffee and ut they had been swept out of that placid stream of existence and dashed against the horrible ct of life battered and shaken they must something to cling to a blind inexorable destiny was too horrible a belief a power acting and for a purpose a living working power tearing them out of their breaking down their small ways forcing them into the better path that was what they had learned to during these days of horror great hands had closed suddenly upon them and had them into new shapes and fitted them for new uses could such a power be by any human it was that or nothing the last court of appeal left open to injured humanity and so they all prayed as lover loves or a poet writes om the very of their souls and they rose with that singular feeling of inward peace and which prayer only can give hush i said listen the sound of a came up the narrow and then another and another the ji c the tragedy of the was about like an old which hears the of the hunt and the of the pack where can we see what is going on come this this way if yoa please i there is a path up to the top if the	4
to grasp the colonel s hand la france i les he was yelling va n est ce pas colonel ah la et he was in his delight the colonel too was as enthusiastic as his saxon standard would permit he could not but he laughed in the nervous way which was his top note of emotion my dear i am glad to see you all i gave you up for lost never was so pleased at anything in my life how did you get away it was all your doing yes my friend and i have been quarrelling with you wretch that i am f but how did i save you it was you who arranged with this excellent and the others that they should have so much if they brought us alive into egypt a ain they away in the darkness and hid themselves in tne grove then when we were left they crept up with their and shot the men who were about to murder us that cursed i am sorry they shot him for i that i could have persuaded him to be a christian and now with your permission i will hurry on and embrace miss for has his wife and has miss so i think it is very evident that tiie sympathy of miss is reserved for me a had passed away and the special boat which had been placed at tiie disposal of the the tragedy of the rescued was already far north of next morning they would find themselves at where one takes the express for it was therefore their last together mrs and her child who had escaped had already been sent down from the fix miss had been very ill after her and this was the first time that she had been allowed to come up on deck dinner she sat now in a chair thinner and than ever stood beside her and tucked the around her shoulders mr was carrying over the coffee and placing it on the table beside them on the side of the deck and his wife were seated together in silent sympathy and contentment was leaning against the rail and arguing about the of the british government in not taking a more complete control of the egyptian frontier while the colonel stood very in front of him with the red end of a from under his moustache but what was the matter with the colonel who would have recognised him who had only seen the broken old man in the desert there might be some little about the moustache but the hair was back once more at the fine glossy black which had been so much admired upon the voyage up with a stony face and an manner he had received upon his return to all the about the dreadful way in which his had him and then into cabin he had reappeared within an exactly as he had been before that moment when he had cut off from the tragedy of the the manifold resources of and be looked in such a sternly questioning manner at every one who stared at him that no one had the moral courage to make any remark about this modem miracle it was observed om that time forward that if the colonel had only to ride a hundred yards into the desert he always began his preparations by putting a small black bottle with a pink into the side pocket of his coat but those who knew him b t at times when a man may be best known said tiiat the old soldier had a young man s heart and a young man s spirit so that lt he wished to keep a young man s colour also it was not very unreasonable after au it was very soothing and up there on the saloon deck with no sound but the gentle of the water as it against the sides of the steamer the red glow was in the western sky and it the broad smooth river with crimson dimly they could discern the tall figures of standing upon the sand banks and father off the line of river side date palms past them in a majestic procession once more the stars were twinkling out the same clear placid inexorable stars to which their weary eyes had been so often during the long nights of their desert where do you put up in miss asked mrs at last s i think ana you mr oh s decidedly we are at the continental i hope we shall not lose sight of you i don t want ever to lose sight of you mrs l the tragedy of the cried oh you must come to the states and well give you just a lovely time mrs laughed in her pleasant mellow fashion we have our duty to do in ireland and we have heen too long away from it already my husband has his business and i have my home and are both going to rack and rum besides she added sl y it is just possible that if we ud come to tjie states we might not find you there we must all meet again said if only to talk our adventures over once more it will be easier in a year or two we are still too near them and yet how away and dream like it all seems remarked his wife providence is very good in softening disagreeable in our minds all this feels to me as if it had happened in some previous existence held up his wrist with a cotton still round it the body does not forget as as the mind this does not look very dream like or r away mrs how hard it is that some should be spared and some not i if only mr brown and mr were with us then i should not have one care	4
in the world cried why should they have been taken and we left mr had on to the deck with an open book in his hand a thick stick supporting his injured leg why is the ripe fruit picked and the l the tragedy of the left said he in answer to the girl s exclamation we know of the spiritual state of these poor dear young fellows but the great master gardener his fruit according to his own knowledge t you up a passage to read to you there was a lantern upon the table and he sat down beside it the yellow shone upon his heavy cheek and the red edges of his book the steady voice rose above the wash of the water let them give thanks whom the lord hath and delivered from the band of the enemy and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west from the north and from the south they went astray in the wilderness out of the way and found no city to dwell in hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them so they cried unto the lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress he led them forth by the right way that they might go to the city where they dwelt oh that men therefore praise the lord for his goodness and declare the wonders that he for the children of men it sounds as if it were composed for us and yet it was written two thousand years ago said the clergyman as he closed the book in every age man has been forced to acknowledge the guiding hand which leads him for my part i don t believe that inspiration stopped two thousand years ago when wrote with such and conviction oh yet we trust good wm be the fin l goal of ill l the tragedy of the he was the message which had been given to hun just as or when the world was younger repeated some and more lesson that is all very well mr said the frenchman you ask me to praise gk d for taking me out of danger and pain but what i want to know is why since he arranged all things he ever put me into that pain and i have in my opinion more occasion to blame than to praise you would not thank me for pulling you out of that river if it was also i who pushed you in the most which you can claim for your providence is that it has the wound which its own hand inflicted i don t deny the difficulty the clergyman slowly no one who is not self deceived can deny the difficulty look how boldly faced it in that same poem the and deepest and most obviously inspired in language remember the effect which it had upon him i where i firmly trod and my weight of cares upon the great world s altar which slope through t a up to god i stretch hands of and and gather dust and and call to what i feel is lord of all and trust the larger hope it is the central mystery of mysteries the problem of sin and suffering the one huge difficulty which the has to solve in order to the dealings of god with man but take our own case the tragedy of the as an example i for one am very clear what i have got out of om experience i say it with all humility but i have a clearer view of my duties than ever i had before it has taught me to be less in saying what i think to be true less indolent in doing what i feel to be and i cried it has taught me more than all my hfe put together i have learned so much and so much i am a l i never understood my own nature before said i can hardly say that i had a nature to understand i lived for what was unimportant and i neglected what was vital oh a good snake up does nobody any harm the colonel remarked too much of the and four meals a day life is not good man or woman it is my firm belief said mrs gravely that there was not one of us who did not rise to a greater height during those days in the desert than ever before or since when our sins come to be weighed much may be foi ven us for the sake of those unselfish days they all sat in thoughtful silence for a httle while the scarlet streaks turned to and the grey shadows deepened and the wild fowl flew past in dark straggling over the dull surface of the great smooth flowing a cold wind had sprung up from the eastward and some of the rose to leave the deck leaned forward to do you remember what you promised when you were in the desert he what was that the tragedy of the you said that if you escaped you would try in future to make some one else then i must do so you have said he and their hands met under the shadow of the table the flag and other stories of war and sport the flag when jack of the irish the of the hills inner circle and the extreme left wing of the land league was shot by of the in a little moonlight near his twin brother joined the british army the had become too hot for him and as the seventy five shillings were wanting which might have earned him to america he took the only way handy of getting himself out of the way sa has her majesty had a less promising for his hot blood with hatred britain and all things british the however smiling complacently	4
the old they also had a day of little water and a night of rest and the heart was gone out of them ere ever the sons of the prophet had looked them in the eyes this blade drank deep that day and will again before the sun has travelled from the sea to the hill and yet these are other men remarked the well i know that has e them in the clutch of our yet it may e that they with the big hats stand firmer than the cursed men of e pray that it may be so cried the fierce with a flash of his black eyes it was not to chase women that i brought seven hundred men from the river to the coast see my brother already they are forming their array a of calls burst from the distant camp at the same time the bank of bushes at one side had i thrown or trampled down and the little army within to move slowly out on to the once ear of the camp they halted and the rays of the sun struck flashes from and from gun barrel as the ranks closed up until the big joined into a the green flag single long white ribbon two streaks of on either side of the square but elsewhere le fringe of fighting men was of the dull yellow tint which hardly shows against the desert sand inside their array was a dense mass of and bearing stores and needs outside a twinkling of cavalry was drawn up on each flank and in fit nt a thin line of mounted was already slowly advancing over the bush strewn plain on every eminence and peering round as men might who have to pick their steps among the bones of those who have preceded them the three still lingered upon the looking down with hungry eyes and compressed lips at the dark steel patch they are slower to start than the men of the of the growled in his beard slower also to go back perchance my brother the and yet they are not many three thousand at the most and we ten thousand with the prophet s grip upon our spear and his words upon our b ner see to their how he upon the right and looks up at us with the glass that sees from afar it may be that he sees this also the shook his sword at the small of who had out from the square lo he cried the and see those others at the comer how they bend and heave ha by the prophet i had thought it as he spoke a little puff of smoke up at the comer of the square and a seven pound shell burst with a hard just over s l the green flag their heads the knocked from the red rocks around them i cried the if the gun can carry thus far then ours can answer to it bide to the left and tell ben au to cut the skin m the if they cannot hit yonder mark and you to the right and see that three thousand men lie close in e that we have chosen let the others beat the drum and show the banner of the prophet for by the black stone their will have drunk deep ere they look upon the stars again a long straggling strewn lay on the summit of the red hills sloping veiy to the plain save at one point where a curved downward its mouth choked with sand and olive along the edge of this position lay the host a crew of shock headed desert fierce slave of the interior and wild fit m the upper all together by their common and two races were there as wide as the poles apart the thin straight haired and the curly negro yet the faith of had bound them closer than a blood tie among the rocks or lying thickly in the shadow they peered out at the slow moving square beneath them while women with water skins and bags of fluttered from group to group calling out to each other those fighting from the which in the hour of battle are as wine to the true a score of waved over the ragged crew and among them upon desert and white the green flag were the and who were to lead them against the as the sprang into his saddle and drew his sword there was a wild and a clatter of waving while the one ended burst into a dull crash like a wave upon for a moment ten thousand men were up on the rocks with arms and leaping figures the next they were under cover again waiting sternly and for their s orders the square was less than half a mile firom the ridge now and shell after shell from the guns were over it a deep roar on the right and then a second one showed that the egyptian were in action s hawk eyes saw that the shells burst r beyond the mark and he his horse along to where a knot of mounted were round the two guns which were served by their captured how is this ben he cried it was not thus that the dogs fired when it was their own brothers in faith at whom they aimed a his horse back and thrust a blood sword into its beside bim two egyptian with their throats cut were out their lives upon the ground who lays the gun this time asked the fierce glaring at the frightened here thou black child of aim and aim for thy life it may have been chance or it may have been skill but the third and shells burst over the square smiled grimly and galloped back to the left where his were stream l the flag ing down into the	4
as he j them a deep growling rose from the plain beneath like the of a sullen wild beast and a little knot of fell in a struggling heap caught in the blast of lead from a their comrades pressed on over them and sprang down into t e from all along the crest burst the hard sharp of fire the square had slowly advanced rippling over the low sand hills and halting every few minutes to its formation now having made sure that there was no force of the enemy m the it changed its direction and began to take a line parallel to the position ft was too steep to from the front and if they moved r enough to the right the general hoped that he might turn it on the top of those ruddy hills lay a for him and a few extra hundreds in his and he meant having them both that day the fire was and so were those two guns already there more than ne cared to see but on the whole he thought it better to hold his fire he had more to aim at than a few hundred of heads peeping over a back ridge he was a red man a fine player and a soldier who knew his work his men believed in him and he had good reason to believe in them for he had excellent stuff under him that day being an ardent champion of the short service system particular care to work with first and his uttle force was the compressed of an tne im front of the square was formed by four companies of the royal the right by l the green flag four of the royal on either side the other of the same marched in quarter column of companies behind them on tne right was a of guards and on the left one of while the rear was closed in by a rifle two royal seven pound kept pace with the square and a dozen white sailors under blue officers their in ont turning every now and then to spit up at the which waved over the ridge and i in the at each side and within moved the of with humorous eyes and lips their comic faces a contrast to the blood stained men who already lay huddled in the on either side the square was now moving slowly on a line parallel with the rocks stopping every few minutes to pick up and to the screw guns and to make themselves felt the men looked serious for that spring on to the rocks of the army had given them a vague of the number and ferocity of their foes but their were set like stone for they knew to a man that they must win or they must die and die too in a particularly fashion but most serious of all was the general for he had seen that which brought a flush to his cheeks and a frown to his brow i say said he to his those seem a trifle the right flank company a bit when the owed tm youngest troops in the square sir murmured the green flag the at them his tell colonel to see to it said the general and the sped upon his way the colonel a fine old warrior was over at c company in an instant how are tjie men captain never better sir answered the senior captain in the spirit that makes a officer look murder if you suggest his regiment from the them up i cried the colonel as he rode away a colour seemed to trip and fell forward into a bush he made no effort to rise but lay in a heap among the thorns o s cried a voice never mind lads said captain he s died like a soldier fighting for queen to hell with the queen i shouted a hoarse voice from the ranks but the roar of the and the of the burst in at the tail of the words captain heard them and aiid heard them but there are times when a deaf ear is a gift from the gods steady cried the captain in a pause of the machine gun we have the honour of ireland to mis day and well we know how to guard it i cried the same ominous voice and there was a from the length of the company the captain and the two came behind the marching line the green flag they seem a bit out of hand murmured the captain said the boy they mean to hke they nearly broke when the showed on the hill said the first man that turns my sword is through him cried loud to be heard by five on either side of him then in a lower voice it s a bitter drop to swallow but it s my duty to report what you think to the chief and have a company of put behind us he turned away with the safety of the square upon his mind and before he had reached his goal the square had ceased to exist in their march in front of what looked like a ce of they had come to the mouth of the in which by and three thousand chosen under of the were crouching went the of three mounted in in front of the left shoulder of the square and an instant later they were it for their crouching over the of horses and over the sand hills with thirty or forty at their heels rocks and and suddenly into life rushing black figures came and went in the of the bushes a howl that drowned the shouts of the officers a long yell burst from the two from the royal one crash from the screw gun firing and then before a second could be in a living glistening	4
black wave the green flag tipped with steel had rolled over the gun the royal had been dashed back among the and a thousand were and in the heart of what had been the square the and in the centre more and more together as their leaders from the rush of the shut out the view of the other three who could only tell that the had got in by the upon which rose ever nearer and nearer amid the clouds of sand dust the struggling animals and the dense mass of swaying men some of the fired back at the who had passed them as excited will and it is whispered among doctors that it was not always a bullet which was cut from a wound that day some rallied in little knots furiously with their at the rushing others turned at bay with their backs against the and others round the general and his staff who revolver in hand had flung themselves into the heart of it but the whole square was slowly away from the pushed back by the pressure at the shattered comer the officers and men at the other faces were glancing nervously to their rear uncertain what was going on and unable to take help to their comrades without breaking the formation by jove they ve got through the cried of the the have us ted said his brother his revolver the ranks were breaking and crowding toward private all talking together as the officers back through the veil of dust the sailors l the green flag had run their out and she was death out of her fire into the flank of the stream of savages on this gun i shouted a t ce she s again the fierce had ceased and her crew were straining and at the this damned cried an officer the the stand to your bo or they re into us his voice rose a shriek as he ended for a headed spear had been buried in his chest a second wave of over the and burst upon the gun and the right front of the the were in an instant but the with their fighting blood met the yell of the with an even cry and dropped two hundred of them with a single point blank the howling leaping crew away to the right and dashed on the gap which had already been made for them but c company had drawn no to stop that fiery rush the men leaned upon some had even thrown them upon the ground was talking fiercely to those about him captain his way through the press rushed up to him with a revolver in this is your doing you villain he cried if you raise your pistol your brains will be over your coat said a low voice at his side he saw tliat several were turned on him the two had pressed forward and were by his side what is it then he cried looking round j the green flag from one fierce ce to another are you are you soldiers what are you here for but to fight for your country england is no country of ours cried several you are not fighting for england you are fighting for ireland and for the empire of which it is p a black curse on the im shouted private throwing down his twas the that backed the man me the roadside may me hand before i draw for it what s the to us captain and what s tlie to us cried a voice let the for her ay be gk d they d be better than a poor man s about his ears or his brother as they did mine it was the laid my mother w the her son will rot before he it and ye can put that in the charge sheet m the next martial in vain the three officers begged persuaded the square was still moving ever moving with the same bloody fight racing m its even while they had been speaking they had been shuffling backward and the useless with her crew was already a good hundred yards from them and the pace was the mass of men tormented and was trying by a common instinct to reach some clearer ground where they could re form three were still but the fourth had been in and badly without its comrades being able to it the guards had met a sh rush oi the green flag the and had blown back the tribes men with a and the had ridden over another stream of them as they out of the a litter of horses and men behind them showed that a on his face among the bushes can show some sport to the man who charges him but in spite of all the square was still swiftly backward trying to shake itself clear of this torment which clung to its heart would it break or would it re form the lives of five and the honour of the flag hung upon the answer some at least were breaking the c company of the had lost all military order and was pushing back in spite of the haggard officers who cursed and and prayed in the vain attempt to hold them their captain and the were and while the men crowded toward private for their orders the confusion had not spread for the other companies in the dust and smoke and turmoil had lost touch with their comrades captain saw that even now there might be time to a disaster think you are doing man he rushing toward the there are a thousand irish in the square and they are dead men if we break the words alone might have had little effect on the old it is possible that in his he had already planned how he was to club his irish together and lead them	4
to the sea but at that moment the broke through the screen of which had them there was a struggle a screaming a mule rolled over a wounded man sprang up m a with the green flag a spear him and then through the narrow gap a stream of naked savages mad with battle drunk with slaughter spotted and with blood blood dripping om their their their faces their their bounds their crouching darting figures the horrid energy of their spear made look like a blast of from the pit and were these the of ireland were these the men who were to strike for her against her enemies s soul rose up in at the thought he was a man of firm purpose and yet at the first sight of those howling that purpose and at the second it was blown to the winds he saw a huge coal black negro seize a shrieking driver and saw at his with a knife he saw a shock headed plunge his great spear through the back of their own from he saw a dozen deeds of blood the murder of the wounded the of the and t too in a glance the good wholesome faces of the faced about rear rank of the the too had about and in an instant had thrown himself into the heart of c company striving with the officers to form the men up with their comrades the mischief had gone too far the rank and file had no heart in their work they had broken before and this last rush of savages was a hard thing for broken men to stand against they fi m the furious faces and why should they throw away their for a flag for which they cared nothing why should their leader urge them to break and now shriek to them to re form they would not the green flag re they wanted to get to the sea and to safety he flung himself among them with outstretched aims with words of reason with shouts with it was useless the tide was beyond control they were out into the desert with their set for the coast will ye stand for this screamed a voice it was so ringing so that the breaking glanced backward th were held by what they saw had planted his rifle stock downward in a from the fixed there fluttered a little green flag with the harp god knows for what black for what signal of revolt that flag had been up the s i now its green stood amid the rush while three proud re colours were slowly backward what for the flag the private my heart s blood for and and cried a score of voices god bless the flag boys the flag c company were upon it the clutched at each other and pointed here o ran the close on the back to the flag i three standards re ed backward and the square strove for a clearer space where they could form their shattered ranks but c company grim and powder stained choked with enemies and falling st still closed in on the little rebel that from the bush it was a good half hour before the square having itself from its difficulties and dressed its b an to slowly move forward the green flag over the ground across which in its labour and it had been driven the of men and showed but too the path they had come how many got into us asked the general tapping his snuff box i put them down at a thousand or twelve hundred sir i did not see any get out again what the devil were the thinking about the guards stood well though so did the colonel reports that his flank company was cut off sir why that s the company that was out of hand when we advanced colonel reports sir the company took the whole of the attack and gave the square time to re form tell the to ride forward said the general and try if they can see anything of them there s no and fear that the will want to do some let the square take ground by the right and then advance but the of the saw from his that the men with the big hats had rallied and that they were coming back in the quiet business fashion of men whose work was before them he took counsel with the and the and a man was he when he learned that the third of his men were in the paradise so having still some signs of victory to show he gave the word and the desert warriors flitted off unseen and unheard even as they had come a red rock a few hundred and the green flag and a plain for the second time was strewn with was all that his day s fighting gave to the english g it was a of which came first to the spot where the rebel flag had waved a dense utter of dead marked the place within the waved no er but the still stood in the bush and round it with their wounds in lay the private and the silent ranks of his sentiment is not an english ruling but the captain raised his in a salute as he rode past the soaked ring the british general sent home to his government and so did the chief of the to his thou the style and manner differed somewhat in each the of the people to the chosen of and greeting began the latter know by this that on the fourth day of this moon we gave battle to the who call themselves having with us the chief with ten thousand of the by the blessing of we have broken them and chased them for a mile though indeed these are different fix m	4
the dogs of egypt and have slain very many of our men yet we hope to them again ere the new moon be come to which end i trust that thou wilt send us a thousand om in token of our victory i send you by this messenger a flag which we have taken by the it might well seem to have belonged to those of the true but the gave their blood freely to save it and so we think that thou small it is v y dear to them g captain bow the of st s came home when the great wars of the spanish succession had been brought to an end by the treaty of the vast number of which had been fitted out by the parties found their occupation gone some to to the more peaceful but less ways of ordinary commerce others were absorbed into the fishing mid a few of the more reckless hoisted the jolly at the and the bloody flag at the main declaring a private war upon their own account against the whole human race with mixed firom every nation they the seas disappearing occasionally to in some lonely or putting in for a at some port where they dazzled the inhabitants by their and them by their on the coast at in the african waters and above all in the west indian and american seas the were a constant menace with an insolent luxury they would their by the comfort of the seasons new england in the summer and again to the tropical islands in the winter j captain they were the more to be dreaded because th had none of that discipline and restraint which made their the both formidable and respectable these of the sea rendered an account to no man and treated their prisoners according to the drunken whim of the moment flashes of grotesque generosity with longer stretches of ferocity and the who fell into their hands might find himself dismissed his cargo after serving as boon in some hideous or might sit at his cabin table with his own nose and his served up with and salt in front of him it took a stout seaman in those days to his calling in the gulf such a man was captain john of the ship morning star and yet he breathed a long sigh of when he heard the splash of the falling anchor and swung at his within a hundred yards of the guns of the of st s was his final port of call and early next morning his would be pointed for old he had had enough of those seas ver since he had left upon the main with his full of sugar and red he had at every ail which over the violet edge of the tropical sea le had up the d islands touching here and there and assailed continually by stories of and outrage captain of the gun delivery had passed down the coast and it with vessels and with murdered men anecdotes were current of his grim and of his ferocity captain from the to the main his coal black with the name had been with death and many things which are worse than death so nervous was captain witli his new ship and ner full and valuable that he struck out to the west as far as bird s island to be out of the usual track of commerce and yet even in those solitary waters he had been unable to shake off sinister traces of captain one morning they had a single upon the face of the ocean its only was a seaman who hoarsely as they hoisted him aboard and showed a dried up tongue like a black and wrinkled at the back of mouth water and nursing soon transformed him into the strongest and sailor on the ship he was from in new england it seemed and was the sole of a which had been by the dreadful for a week for that was name had been adrift beneath a tropical sun had ordered the remains of his late captain to be thrown into the boat as provisions lor the voyage but the seaman had at once committed it to the deep lest the temptation should be more than he bear he had lived upon his own huge frame until at the last the star had found him in that madness which is the of such a death it was no bad find for captain for with a crew such a seaman as this big new was a prize worth having he vowed that he was the only man whom captain had ever placed under an obligation as l captain now that they lay under the guns of all danger the was at an end and yet the thought of him lay heavily upon the seaman s mind as he watched the agent s boat shooting out from the custom house lay you a said he to the mate that the agent speak of in the first hundred that pass his lips well captain i ll have you a silver dollar and chance it said the rough old man beside him the negro shot the boat alongside and the linen sprang up the ladder welcome captain i ne cried have you heard about the captain grinned at the mate what has he been up to now he asked i youve not heard then i why we ve got him safe under lock and key here at re he was tried last wednesday and he is to be hanged to morrow morning captain and mate gave a shout of joy which an instant later was taken up by the crew discipline was forgotten as they scrambled up through the break of the to hear the news the new was in the front of them with a radiant face turned up to heaven for	4
he came of the stock to be hanged he cried you don t know agent if they lack a do you stand back i cried the mate whose outraged sense of discipline was even stronger than his interest at the news i ll pay that dollar cap captain tain with the heart that ever i paid a yet how came the villain to he taken why as to that he became more than his own comrades could abide and they took such a horror of him that they would not have him on the ship so they him upon the little to the south of the bank and there he was foimd by a who brought him lo there was talk of sending him to to be tried but our good httle governor sir charles would not hear of it he s my meat said he and i claim the cooking of it if you can stay till to morrow morning at you ll see the joint i wish i could said the captain but i am sadly behind time now i ould start with the evening tide that you can t do said the agent with decision the governor is going back you the governor i yes he s had a om government to return without delay the fly boat that brought it has gone on to virginia so sir charles has been waiting for you as i told him you were due before the well cried the in some perplexity i m a plain seaman and i don t know much of and and their ways i don t remember that i ever so much as spoke to one but if it s in kin george s service and he asks a cast in the star as r as london do what i can for him there s my own cabin he can have and welcome as to the cooking it s and six days in the week l captain but he can his own cook aboard with him if he thinks our too rough for his taste you need not trouble your mind said the agent sir charles is in weak health just now clear of a and it is likely he will keep his cabin most of the voyage dr said that he would have sunk the hanging of not put fresh life into him he has a great in him though and you must not him if he is somewhat short in speech he may say what he likes and do what he likes so long as he does not come my when i am working the ship said the captain he is governor of st s but i am of the morning star and by his leave i must weigh with the first tide for owe a duty to my employer just as he does to king george he can scarce be ready to night for he has many things to set in order h he leaves the early morning tide then very good i shall send his things aboard to night and he will follow them to morrow early if i can prevail upon him to leave st s without seeing do the rogue s his own orders were instant so it may be that he will come at once it is likely that dr may attend him upon the journey l to themselves the captain and mate made the best preparations which they could for their illustrious passenger the largest cabin was out and adorned in his honour and orders were given by which barrels of fruit and some cases of wine should be brought off to vary the plain food of an ocean going in the evening captain governor s ba to great ant trunks and official tin with other strange shaped which suggested the cocked or the and then there came a note with a device upon the big red seal to say that sir charles wan his compliments to captain and that he hoped to be with him in the morning as early as his duties and his would permit he was as good as his word for the first of dawn had begun to into pink when he was brought alongside and climbed with some difficulty up the ladder the had heard that the governor was an eccentric but he was hardly prepared for the curious figure who came feebly down his quarter deck his steps supported by a thick cane he wore a wig all twisted into little tails like a s coat and cut so low across the brow that the large green glasses which covered his eyes looked as were hung from it a fierce of a nose long and very thin cut tjie air in of him his had caused him to his throat and chin with a linen and he w ne a loose gown secured by a cord round the waist as he advanced he carried his nose high in the air but his head turned slowly from side to side in the helpless manner of the and he called in a voice for the captain you have my things he asked yes charles have you wine aboard i have ordered five cases sir and tobacco l captain there is a of you play a hand at well sir then up anchor and to sea i there was a fresh wind so by the time the sun was fairly through the haze the ship was down from the islands the governor still the deck with one guiding hand upon the quarter rail you are on government service now said he they are counting the days till i come to westminster i promise you have you all that she will carry every inch sir charles keep her so if you blow the out of her i fear captain that you will find a and broken man a poor companion for	4
talk of a over the state of the provisions he was of opinion that they should not wait for the dogs to rise but that they should march forward and set upon them until they had the out of them give me a knife and a bucket he cried with an oath and could hardly be withheld from setting forth alone to deal with the of the captain had to remind him that he might be only to himself at st s killing became murder upon the high seas in politics he was as became his official position a stout of the house of and he swore in his cups that he had never met a without him where he stood yet for all his and his violence he was so good a companion with such a stream of strange anecdote and that and had never known a voyage pass so pleasantly and then at length came the last day when after passing the island they had struck land at the high white at head as evening fell the ship lay rolling in an calm a league off from with the long dark of out in front of her next morning they would pick up their pilot at the and sir les might meet the king s ministers at westminster before the evening the bad the watch and the three captain friends were met for a last turn of cards in the cabin the american serving as eyes to the governor there was a good upon the table for the had tried on this last night to win their losses back from their passenger y he threw his cards down and swept all the into the pocket of ms long silken waistcoat the game s mine i said he sir charles not so cried you have not played out the hand and we are not the sink vou for a liar i said the r i tell you i have v a out the hand and that you are a he whipped off his wig and his glasses as he spoke and there was a high bald forehead and a pair of blue eyes the red of a bull good god i cried the mate it s i the two sprang from their seats but the big american had put his huge back against the cabin door and he held a pistol in each of his hands the r had also laid a pistol upon the scattered cards m front of him and he burst into his high laugh captain is the name gentlemen said he and this is roaring ned the of the delivery we made it hot so they us me on a dry and him in an boat you dogs you poor fond hearted we hold you at the aid our pistols i you may shoot or you may not i cried striking his hand upon the breast of his jacket if it s my last breath i tell captain you tiiat you are a bloody rogue and with a and hell fire in store for you i that s a of spirit and one of my own and he s going to make a very death of it i cried there s no one aft save the man at the wheel so you may keep your breath far need it soon is the ned ay ay captain i and the other boats i bored them all in three places then we shall have to leave you captain you look as if you hadn t quite got your bearings yet is there anything you d like to ask me i believe you re the devil himself i cried the captain where is the governor of st s when last i saw him his was in bed with his throat cut when i broke prison learnt from my for captain has those who love him in every port that the governor was starting for europe under a master who had never seen him i climbed his and i paid him the little debt that i owed him then i came aboard you with such of his things as i had need of and a pair of glasses to hide these tell tale eyes of mine and i have ruffled it as a governor should now ned you can get to them help i help i watch i the mate but the of the s pistol down on to his head and he uke a ox rushed for the door but ihe clapped his hand over his mouth and threw his other aim around his waist l captain no use master said let us see you go down on your knees and b for your life see you cried sc row shaking his mouth clear twist his arm round ned now will you no not if you twist it off put an inch of your knife into him you may put six inches and then i won t sink me but i like his spirit cried put your knife in your pocket ned you ve saved your skin and it s a pity so stout a man should not take to the only trade where a pretty fellow can pick up a living you must be bom for no common death since you have lain at u mercy and to the story tie him up ned to the stove tut tut i there s a fire in the stove none of your tricks ned unless they are called for or let you know which of us two is captain and which is make him to the table nay i thought you meant to roast him i said the you surely do not mean to let go and i were on a ned it is still for me to command and for you to obey sink you for a villain do you dare to question my	4
nothing worse than a nose and a his account was recent definite the happy delivery was at on the of with four men was on the island of la the blood of a hundred murdered was calling out for vengeance and now at last it seemed as if it might not call in vain sir edward the high red faced governor sitting in with the and the head of the council was sorely puzzled in his mind as to how he should use this chance there was no man of war nearer than and she was a clumsy old fly boat which could neither the on the seas nor reach her in a shallow there were and both at and port royal but no soldiers available for an expedition a private venture might be fitted out and there were many who had a blood with but what could a private venture do the were numerous and desperate as to taking and his four companions that of course would be easy if they could get at them but how were they to get at them on a large well wooded island like la of wild hills and impenetrable a reward was offered to whoever could find a solution and that t a man to the front who had a singular plan ana was himself prepared to carry it out had been that most formidable person the gone wrong sprung from a decent his ill seemed l captain to be a from the of their religion and he brought to vice all the physical strength and energy with which the virtues of his ancestors had endowed him he was ingenious fearless and exceedingly of purpose so that when he was still young his name became notorious upon the american coast he was the same who was tried for his life in virginia for the of the chief and though he escaped it was well known that he had the witnesses and the judge afterward as a and even as it was hinted as a he had left an evil name behind him in the of finally he had returned to with a considerable fortune and had settled down to a life of sombre this was the man gaunt austere and d who now waited upon the governor with a plan for the oi sir edward received him with little enthusiasm for in spite of some of and he had always regarded him as an sheep who might taint the whole of his little flock saw the governor s under his veil of formal and restrained courtesy you ve no call to me sir said he i m a changed man from what you ve known i ve seen the of late after losing sight of it for many a black year it was through the of the rev john of our own people sir if spirit should be in need of you would find a very sweet in his discourse the governor cocked his nose at him l captain you came here to speak of master said he the man is a vessel of wrath said his wicked horn has been exalted over long and it is borne in upon me that if i can cut him off and utterly destroy him it will be a deed and one which may for many in the past a plan has been given to me whereby i may his destruction the governor was keenly interested for there was a grim end practical air about the man s ce which showed that he was in earnest after all he was a seaman and a and if it were true that he was to for his past no better man could be chosen for the this will be a dangerous task master said he if i meet my death at it it may be that it will the memory of an ill life i have much to for the governor did not see his way to contradict him what was your plan he asked you have heard that s the happy delivery came from this very port of it belonged to mr ana it was taken who his own and moved into her because she was said sir edward yes but it may be that you have never heard that mr has a sister ship the rose which lies even now in the harbour and l captain which is so like the that if it were not a white paint line none could tell them apart ah and what of that asked the governor keenly with the air of one who is just on the edge of an idea by the help of it this man shall be into our hands and how i paint out the streak upon the rose and make it in all like the happy then i will set sail for the island of la where this man is the wild oxen when he sees me he will surely mistake me for his own vessel which he is awaiting and he will come on board to his own it was a simple plan and yet it seemed to the governor that it might be without he gave cr dock permission to carry it out and to e any steps he liked in to further the object which he had in view sir edward was not very sanguine for many attempts had been made upon and their results id that he was as cunning as he was but this gaunt with the record was cunning and also the contest of wits between two such men as and to the governor s acute sense of sport and though he was inwardly convinced that the chances were against him he backed his man with the same loyalty which he would have shown to his horse or his cock haste was above all things necessary for upon any day the might be finished and	4
the out at sea once more but was not very much to do and there were many willing captain hands to do it so the second day saw the white beating out for the open sea there were many in the port who knew the lines and of the and not one of them could see the slightest in this her white side line had been painted out her and yards were smoked to give them the dingy appearance of the weather beaten and a large diamond shaped patch was let into her her crew were many of them being men who had sailed with before mate an old had his in many voyages and came now at the bidding of his the sped across the sea and at the sight of that patched top sail the little craft which met flew left and right like in a pool on the fourth evening bore five miles to the north and east of them on the fifth they were at anchor in the bay of at the of la where and his four men had been hunting it was a place with the palms and growing down to the thin of silver sand which skirted the shore they had hoisted the black flag and the red but no answer came the shore strained his eyes hoping every instant to see a boat shoot out to them with seated in the sheets but the night passed away and a day and yet another night without any sign of the men whom they were endeavouring to trap it looked as if they were already gone captain on the second morning went ashore in search of some proof whether and his men were still upon the island what he found reassured him greatly close to the shore was a of green wood such as was used for preserving the meat and a great store of of ox flesh was hung upon lines all it the ship had not taken oflf her provisions and therefore the hunters were still upon the island why had they not shown themselves was it that they had detected that this was not their own ship or was it that they were hunting in the of the island and were not on the for a ship yet was still hesitating between the two when a indian came with information the were in the island he said and their camp was a day s march from the sea they had stolen his wife and the marks of their were still pink upon his brown back their enemies were his friends and he would lead them to they lay could not have asked for better so early next morning with a small party armed to the teeth he set off under the guidance of the all day they struggled through and over rocks pushing their way further and further into the desolate heart of the island here and there they found traces of the hunters the bones of a slain ox ar the marks of feet in a and once toward evening it seemed to some of them tb t heard the dis rattle of guns that oi t they spent under the trees and pushed on again with the earliest light about l captain they came to the huts of which the told them were the camp of the hunters but they silent and deserted no doubt their occupants were away at the hunt and would return in the evening so and his men lay in in the around them but no one came and another night was spent in the forest nothing more could oe done and it seemed to that after the two days absence it was time that he returned to his ship once more the return journey was less difficult as had already blazed a path for themselves b evening they found themselves once more at the bay of f ms and saw their ship riding at anchor where they bad left her their boat oars had been up among the bushes so they launched it and l out to the no luck cried the mat looking down with a pale ce firom the his camp was empty but he may come down to us yet said with his hand on the ladder somebody upon deck began to laugh i think said the mate that men had better stay in the boat why so if you will come aboard sir you will understand it he spoke in a curious hesitating the blood flushed to s gaunt how is this master he cried springing up the side what mean you by giving orders to my boat s crew but as he passed over the with one upon the deck and one knee upon tlie rail a tow b man om he had never before ob l captain served aboard his vessel at his pistol clutched at the fellows wrist but at the same instant his mate snatched the om his side what is this shouted looking around him but the crew stood in knots about the deck laughing and whispering amongst themselves without showing any desire to go to his assistance in that hurried glance noticed that they were dressed in the most singular manner with long riding coats full skirted velvet gowns and coloured at their knees more like men of than as he looked at their grotesque figures he struck hi brow with his clenched to be sure that he was awake the deck seemed to be much than when he had left it and there were strange sun blackened faces turned upon him from every side not one of them did he know save only had the ship been d in his absence were these key s men who were around him at the thought he broke furiously away and tried to climb over to his boat but a dozen hands were on him	4
in an instant and he was pushed ail through the open door of his own cabin and it was all different to the cabin which he had left the floor was different the ceiling was different the furniture was different his been plain and austere this was and yet dirty hung with rare velvet curtains with wine and with costly woods which were with pistol marks on the table was a great of the captain sea and beside it with in his hand sat a clean shaven pale faced man with a cap and a coat of turned white under his as he looked upon the long thin high nose and the red eyes which were turned upon him with the fixed gaze of the master player who has left his opponent without a move i cried s thin opened and he broke into his high laugh you tool he cried and leaning over be s shoulder again and again with his you poor dull fool would you match yourself against me it was not the pain of the wounds but it was the contempt in s voice which turned into a savage madman he flew at the roaring with rage striking kicking and foaming it took six men to drag him down on to the floor amidst the remains of the table and not one of the six who did not bear the prisoner s mark upon him but still surveyed him with the same contemptuous eye from outside there came the crash of breaking wood and the of startled voices what is that asked they have stove the boat with cold shot and the men are in the water let them stay there said the now you know where you are you are aboard my ship the happy and you lie at my mercy i knew you for a stout seaman you rogue you took to this long shore your hands were no than my own captain will you articles as your mate has done and join us or shall i heave you over to follow your ship s company where is my ship asked in the hay and the hands in the bay too then i m for the hay also him and heave him over said many hands had dragged out upon deck and the had already drawn his to him when came hurrying om his cabin with an eager face we can do better with the hound he cried sink me if it is not a rare plan throw him into the sail room with the irons on and do you come here that i may tell you what i have in my mind so bruised and wounded in soul and body was thrown into the dark sail room so that he could not stir hand or foot but his northern blood was running strong in his veins and his grim spirit only to make such an as might go some way toward for the evil of his life all night he lay in the curve of the listening to uie rush of the water and the of uie which told him that the ship was at sea and driving fast in the early morning some one came crawling to him in the darkness over the heaps of sails here s rum and said the voice of his late mate it s at the risk of my life master that i bring them to you it was you who me and caught me as captain in a t cried how shall you for what you have done what i did i did with the of a knife blade bones god forgive you for a coward how came you into their hands why master the ship came back from its upon the very day that you left us they laid us aboard and handed as we were with the best of the men ashore with you we could offer but a poor defence some were cut down and th were the happiest the others were killed as to me i saved my life by on with them and they my ship th her and then and his men who had been watching us from we in came off to the ship his had been cracked and last voyage so he had of us seeing that ours was whole then e thought of laying the same trap for you which you had set for mm groaned how came i not to see that he muttered but whither are we bound we are running north and west north and west then we are heading back toward with an eight knot wind have you what th mean to do with me i have not heard if you would but sign the articles i i have risked my soul l captain as you wish i i have done what i could farewell i all that night and the next day the ran before the trades and lay in the dark of the sail room patiently at irons one he had off at the cost of a row of broken and bleeding hut do what he would he could not free the other and his ankles were securely from hour to hour he heard the of the water and knew that the must be driving with all sail set in front of the trade wind in that case they must be nearly back again to by now what plan could hare in his head and what use did he hope to make of him set his teeth and rowed that if he had once been a from choice he would at least never be one by on the second morning became aware that sail had been reduced in the and that she was slow with a light breeze on her beam the varying slope of the sail room and the sounds from the deck told his practised senses exactly	4
what she was doing the short reaches showed him that she was near shore and making for some definite point if so she must have reached but what could she be doing there and then suddenly there was a burst of cheering from the deck and then the crash of a un above his head and then the answering of guns from far over the water sat up and strained his ears was the ship in action my the one gun had been fired and many captain had answered there were none of the which told of a shot coming home then if it was not an action it must be a salute but who would salute the it could only be another ship which would do so so lay back again with a groan and continued to work at the which still held his right wrist but suddenly there came the of steps outside and he had hardly time to wrap the loose links his ee hand when the door was and two came in got your hammer carpenter asked one whom recognised as the big knock off his leg then leave the he s safer with them on with hammer and the carpenter loosened the irons what are you going to do with me asked come on deck and you ll see the sailor seized him by the arm and dragged him roughly to the foot of the companion above him was a square of blue sky cut across by the the colours at the peak but it was the sight of those colours which struck the breath from s lips for there were two of them and the british was flying above the jolly the honest flag above that of the rogue for an nt stopped in amazement but a brutal push from the behind drove him up the companion ladder as he stepped out upon deck his eyes turned up to the and there again were the british colours flying above captain the red and all the and were with the ship been taken then but that was impossible for there were tiie in along the port and waving their hats in the air most prominent of all was the mate standing on the head and wildly looked over the side to see what they were cheering at and then in a flash he saw how critical was the moment on the port bow and about a mile oflf lay the white houses and of fort royal with in out everywhere over their right ahead was the opening of the leading to the town of not more than a quarter of a mile off was a small working out against the very slight wind the british was at her peak and her was all decorated on her deck could be seen a dense crowd of people cheering and waving their hats and the of scarlet told that there were officers of the garrison among them in an instant with the quick perception of a man of action saw through it all with that cunning and audacity which were among his main characteristics was the part which would himself have played had he come back victorious it was in ms honour that the were firing and the it was to welcome mm that this ship with the governor the and the of the island was approaching in another ten minutes they would au be under the guns of the happy and would have won the greatest stake that a played for yet captain bring him forward cried the captain as appeared between the and the keep the ports closed but clear away the port guns aad stand by for a another two cable and we have them they are ed g away the i think they smell us that s soon set right said his eyes upon stand there you right there where they can recognise you with your hand on the and wave your hat to them quick or your will be over your coat put an inch of your knife into him ned now will you wave your hat try him again then hey shoot him r stop him i but it was too late upon the the had taken his hands for a moment off s arm in that instant he had flung off the carpenter and amid a of pistol had the and was swimming for his hfe he had been hit and hit again but it takes pistols to kill a resolute and powerful man who has his mind set upon doing something he dies he was a strong and in spite of the red trail which he left in the water behind him he was rapidly increasing his distance from the give me a i cried with a savage oath he was a famous shot and his iron nerves never him in an emergency the dark head appearing on the crest of a and then down on the other side was already half way to the dwelt long upon his aim be l captain fore he fired with the crack of the gun the reared himself up in the water waved his hands in a gesture of warning and roared out in a voice which rang over the bay then as the swung round her head sails and the fired an impotent smiling grimly in his death sank slowly down to that golden couch which for beneath him how captain the were something higher than a mere band of they were a floating republic with laws and discipline of own in their endless and quarrel with the they had some semblance of right upon their side their bloody of the cities of the main were not more barbarous than the of spain upon the or upon the in these same american lands the chief of the were he english or french a or a was a responsible	4
person whose might countenance him or even praise him so long as he refrained from any deed which might shock the century conscience too some of them were touched with religion and it is still remembered how threw the overboard upon the sabbath and daniel a man before the altar for but there came a day when the of the l captain no longer at the and the and took t dr yet even with him the tradition of and of still lingered and among the early the the and the there remained some respect for sentiment they were more dangerous to the merchant than to the seaman but they in turn were replaced by more savage and desperate men who frankly recognised that they would get no quarter in their war with the human race and who swore that they would give as little as they got of their histories we know little that is they wrote no and left no trace save an occasional blackened and adrift upon the ce of the atlantic their deeds could only be om the long roll of ships who never made their port searching the records of history it is only here and there m an old world trial that the that them seems for an instant to be lifted and we catch a glimpse of some amazing and grotesque hind such was the breed of ned low of the and of the infamous whose coal black the happy de was known from the banks to the mouths of the as the dark for of misery and of death there were many men both among the islands and on the main who had a blood with but not one who had suffered more bitterly than banks of banks had been one of the leading sugar merchants of the west indies he was a man of position a member of the council the husband of a and the captain cousin of the governor of virginia his two sons had been sent to london to be educated and their mother had gone over to bring them back on their return voyage the ship the of fell into the of and the whole family met with an death banks said httle when he heard the news but he sank into a and enduring melancholy he neglected his business avoided his and spent much of his time in the low of the and there amidst riot and he sat silently at his pipe with a set face and a eye it was generally supposed that his misfortunes had shaken his wits ana his old friends looked at him for the company which he kept was enough to bar him from honest men time to time there came of over the sea sometimes it was from some which had seen a great flame upon the and approaching to offer help to the burning ship had ned away at the sight of the black lurking hke a wolf near a sheep sometimes it was a frightened had come tearing in with her canvas curved like a lady s because she had seen a patched rising slowly above the violet sometimes it was from a which had found a uttered with bodies once there came a man who had been mate of a and who had escaped the s hands he could not speak for reasons which could best supply but he could write and he did write to the very great interest of captain they together over the m and the dumb man pointed here and there to and while his sat smoking in silence with his face and his fiery eyes one morning some two years after his misfortune mr banks strode into his own office with his old air of energy and the stared at him in surprise for it was months since he had shown any interest in good morning mr banks i said he good morning i see that bi sing harry is in the bay yes sir she for the islands on wednesday i have other plans for her i hate determined upon a venture to but her cargo is ready sir then it must come out again my mind is made up and the harry must go to all argument and persuasion were vain so the manager to clear the ship once more and then banks began to make preparations for his african voyage it appeared that he relied upon force rather than for the filling of his hold for he carried none of those which savages love but the was fitted with ei t nine and full of and ttie after sail room next the cabin was transformed into a powder m and she carried as many round shot as a well found water and were a long voyage captain but the preparation of his ship s company was most surprising it made the manager that there was truth in the rumour that his master had taken leave of his senses for under one pretext or another he began to dismiss the old and tried hands who had served the firm for years and in their place he embarked the of the port men whose were so vile that the lowest would been ashamed to furnish them there was who was known to have been present at the killing of the so that his hideous scarlet was put down by the as being a red om that great crime he was first mate and under him was martin a little sun fellow who had served with at the taking of cape coast castle the crew were chosen from amongst those whom banks had met and known in their own infamous haunts and his own table steward was a haggard faced man who at you when he tried to talk his beard been shaved and it was impossible to recognise him as the same man whom had imder	4
of us but if you will take your sword and pistols and come upon a with me then the world will be rid of a villain whichever way it goes now this is cried jumping off the gun and out his hand i have not met many who could look john in the e and speak with a fail breath may the devil seize me if i do not choose you as a i but if you play me then i will come aboard of you and you upon your own and i pledge you the said co d banks and so the two became sworn com to each other that they went north as r as the banks and the new york and the whale ships from new england it was captain banks who captured the liverpool ship house of but it was who fastened her master to the and him to death with empty bottles together they engaged the king s ship royal fortune which had been in search of them and beat her off after a night action of five hours the drunken naked in the light of the battle with a of rum and a laid by the of eveiy gun they ran to in north to r t and then in the spring they were at the grand ready for a long down the west indies by this time and banks had become very excellent friends for loved a whole hearted villain and he loved a man of metal and it seemed to him that the two met in the captain of the harry it was long before he save his to hun fun cold suspicion lay in his character never once would he trust himself outside his own ship and away from his own men but banks came often on board the happy delivery and joined in many of his so that at last any of the latter were set at rest he knew nothing of tiie evil that he had done to his new boon companion for of his many victims how could he remember the woman and the two boys whom he had slain with such levity so long ago i when therefore he received a challenge to and to his for a upon the last evening of their stay at the bank he saw no to captain a well found passenger ship had been the week before so their fare was of the best and after supper five of them drank deeply together there were the two captains ned and martin the old to w t upon them was the dumb steward whose head split with his glass because he had been too slow in the filling of it the had s pistols away from him for it was an old joke with him to fire them cross handed under the table and see who was the man it was a which had cost his his leg so now the table was cleared they s weapons away om him on the excuse of the heat and lay them out of his reach the captain s cabin of the ru ng harry was in a deck house upon the and a stem gun was mounted at the rack of it bound shot were round the wall and three great of powder made a stand for dishes and for bottles in this grim room the five sang and roared and drank while the silent steward filled up th glasses and passed the box and the candle round for their tobacco pipes hour after hour the talk became the voices the curses and more until three of the five had closed their blood shot eyes and dropped their swimming heads upon the table banks and were left face to ce the one because he had drunk the least the other because no amount of liquor would ever shake his iron nerve or warm his blood behind him stood the watchful for ever filling up his glass from without came the low captain of the tide and from over the water a sailor s from the in the tropical night the words came clearly to their ears a sailed from town wake her up shake her up her with the main j a sailed town with a full of and a velvet gown ho the bully jack w ting with his yard out upon the sea the two boon companions sat listening in silence then banks glanced at the ard and the man took a of rope from the behind him captain said banks do you remember the of london which you took and sank three years ago off the curse me if i can bear their names in mind said we did as many as ten ships a week about that time there were a mother and two sons among the passengers maybe that will bring it back to your mind captain back in thought with his huge thin of a nose then he burst suddenly into a hi h he remembered it he said and he added to prove it but bum me if it had not slipped from my mind he cried how came you to think of it it was of interest to me said banks l captain for the woman was my wife and the lads were my sons stared across at his companion and saw that the re which always in his eyes had up into a lurid flame he read their menace and he clapped his hands to his empty belt then he turned to seize a weapon hut the of a rope was cast round him and in an instant his arms were bound to side he fought like a and screamed for help ned he ned i wake up f here s damned help ned help i but the three men were a too deeply sunk in their sleep for any voice to wake them round	4
and round went the rope until was hke a from ankle to neck they propped him stiff and helpless against a barrel and they him with a but his red eyes still looked curses at them the dumb man in his exultation and for the first time when he saw the empty mouth before him he understood that vengeance slow and patient had do ed him long and clutched him at last l e two had their plans all arranged and they wore somewhat elaborate first of all they stove the heads of two of the great powder and they heaped the contents out upon the table and floor they piled it round and under the three drunken men until each in a heap of it then they carried to the gun and they him sitting over the his body about a foot from the le as he would he could not move an inch either to ri t or left and the dumb captain man him up with a sailor s cunning so that there was no chance that he should work free now you bloody devil said banks softly you must listen to what i have to say to you for they are the last words that you will hear you are my man now and i have bought you at a price for i have given all that a man can g ve ha below and i have given my soul as well to reach you i have had to sink to your level for two years i strove against it hoping that some other way might come but i learnt that there was no other way i ve robbed and i have murdered worse still i have laughed and with you all for the one end and now my time has come and you will die as i would have you die the shadow creeping slowly upon you and the devil waiting for you in the shadow hear the hoarse voices of his their over the water where is the of town wake her up shake her up eveiy stick s i where is the of town his gold s on the his blood s on his gown all for bully jack reaching on the weather tack across the sea the words came clear to his ear and just outside he could hear two men pacing backward and forward upon the deck and yet he was helpless staring down the mouth of the nine unable to move an inch or to utter so much as groan again there came the burst of voices from the deck of the captain so it s op and it s over to bay fade it on crack it on t her with the sails i it s off on a to bay where the liquor is good and the are gay waiting for their bully jack watching for him sailing back across the sea to the dying the jovial words and tune made own fate seem the hut there was no softening in his eyes banks had brushed away the of the gun and had sprinkled powder over the then he had taken up the candle and cut it to the h of about an this he placed upon the loose powder at the breach of the gun then he scattered powder thickly over the floor beneath so that when the candle fell at the it must the huge pile in which the three were you ve made others look death in the face said he now it has come to be your own turn you and these swine here shall go together i he ut the candle end as he spoke and blew out the other lights upon the table then he passed out with the dumb man and locked the door upon the outer side but before he closed it he took an look backward and received one last curse from those eyes in the single dim circle of light that ivory white ce with the gleam of moisture upon the high bald forehead was the last that was ever seen of there was a along side and in it banks and the dumb steward made their way to the beach and looked back upon the riding in captain the moonlight just outside the shadow of the palm trees they waited and waited watching that dim li t which shone through the stem and then at last there came the dull of a gun and an instant later the crash of the explosion the long sleek the sweep of white sand and the fringe of nodding palm trees sprang into ng light and back into darkness again voices screamed and called upon the bay then his heart singing within him touched companion upon the shoulder and th plunged together into the lonely of the l the master mb robert was seated at his desk his head upon his hands in a state of the despondency before him was the open with the long columns of dr s at his elbow lay the wooden tray with the in various the cork box the of twisted wax while in front a rank of empty bottles waited to be filled but his spirits were too low for work he sat in silence with his fine shoulders bowed his head upon his hands outside through the window over a of blackened brick and slate a line of enormous chimneys like pillars the lowering coloured for six days in the week they smoke but to day the fires were for it was sunday sordid and gloom hung over a district and by the of man there was nothing in the surroundings to cheer a soul but it was more than his dismal which weighed upon the medical assistant his trouble was deeper and more personal the winter was approaching he should be back t ain at the university the last year	4
insensible and then the danger of his position came upon and ee turned as white as his a sunday the dr with his pious connection a savage with a patient he would lose his situation if the came out it was not much of a situation but he could not get another without a thb master and mi t refuse him one without money for his classes and without a what was to become of him it was absolute ruin but he could escape exposure after all he seized his insensible adversary dragged him out into the centre of the room loosened r collar and squeezed the over his he sat up at last with a gasp and a thee s spoilt my said he up the water from his breast i m sorry i hit you so hard said i l hit me hard i i could such fly all day twas this here press that cracked my for me and thou art a man to be able to boast as thou hast me and now i d be obliged to thee if thou wilt ve me t wife s medicine gladly made it up and handed it to the you are weak still said he won t you stay awhile and rest t wife wants her medicine said the man and out at the door the assistant looking after him saw him rolling with an uncertain step down the street until a friend met him and they walked on arm in arm the man seemed in his rough northern to bear no grudge and so s fears left him there was no reason why the doctor should know anything about it he wiped the blood from the floor put the in order and went on with his interrupted task hoping that he had come out of a very dangerous business yet all day he was aware of a sense of vague l the master uneasiness which sharpened into dismay when in the he was informed that three gentlemen had called and were waiting for him in the a s a descent of an invasion of angry relatives all sorts of possibilities rose to scare mm with tense nerves and a rigid face he went to meet his visitors they were a each was known to him by sight out what on earth the three could be together and above all what they could expect m m mm was a most the first was the son of the owner of the coal pit he was a young blood of twenty heir to a fortune a keen and down for the from college he sat now upon the edge of the table looking in silence at and twisting the ends of his small black moustache the second was the owner of the chief and well known as the local he was a coarse clean shaven man whose fiery face made a singular contrast with his ivory white bald head he had shrewd light blue eyes with lashes and he also leaned forward in silence his chair a fat red hand upon either knee and stared at the young assistant so did the third visitor the who leaned back long thin legs with their box cloth riding thrust out in front of him tapping his teeth with his with anxious thought in every line of his rugged bony face exquisite and were all three equally silent equally ear l g the master nest and equally critical seated in the midst ot them looked from one to the other well gentlemen he observed but no came the position was embarrassing no said the at last no it s off it s stand lad let s see thee it was the who spoke obeyed he would learn all about it no doubt if he were patient he stood up and turned slowly as if in front of his tailor it s off it s off i cried the why mon the master would break him over his knee oh that be hanged for a t said the young you can drop out if you like but see this thing through if i have to do it alone i don t hedge a penny i like the cut of him a great deal than i liked ted k at s shoulders mr isn t always strength give me nerve and fire and breed that s what wins ay sir you have it you have it i said the t red faced in a thick voice it s the same wi get em an fine and they ll the thick em out o their skins he s ten good on the li t side growled the he s a weight anyhow a hundred and a hundred and fifty if he s an well the master doesn t scale much more than that the master a hundred and seventy five that was when he was and high work the out of him and lay there s no great difference between them have you been weighed lately mr it was the first direct question which had been asked him he had stood in the midst of them like a horse at a and he was just beginning to whether he was more angry or amused i am just eleven stone said lie i said that he was a t but suppose you was trained said the then i am always in training in a manner of no doubt he is always in remarked the but for work ain t the same as with a and i dare bet with all to your opinion mr that there s half a stone of on him at this minute the young put his fingers on the assistant s upper arm then with his other hand on his wrist he bent the sharply and felt the as round and hard as a ball spring up his fingers feel	4
here and thou art a thou art and no mistake and if thou beat the master of thou ll find all the beer thou want for the rest of thy life waiting for thee at the four it is the most sporting thing i ever heard of in my life young by george sir if you pull it off you ve got the in your pocket if you care to stand you know the in mv garden next the road exactly i turned it into a for ted you ll find all you want there clubs ball bars dumb bells then you ll want a partner o has been acting for but we don t think that he is class enough bears you no grudge he s a good hearted fellow though cross with ers he looked upon you as a stranger this but he says he knows you now he is quite ready to with you for practice and he will come at any you will name the master thank you i will let you know the hour and so the committee departed upon their way the medical assistant sat for a little time in the ery it over in his mind he had been trained originally at the university by the man who had been middle weight champion in his day it was true that his teacher was long past his prime slow upon his feet and stiff in his joints but even so he was still a tough but had found at last that he could more than hold his and his teacher who had trained so many students was emphatic in his opinion that he had never had one who was in the same class with him he had been to go in for the amateur but he had no particular ambition in that direction once he had put on the gloves with hammer in a at a fair and had fought three rattling rounds in which he had the worst of it but had made the prize stretch himself to the there was his whole record and was it enough to encourage him to stand up to the master of he had never heard of the master before but then he had lost touch of the ring during the last few years of hard work after all what ud it matter if he won there was the money which meant so much to him if he lost it would only mean a he could take punishment without of that he was certain if there were only one in a hundred of off then it was worth bis while to attempt it dr new come from witb an prayer book in his kid hand broke in upon his meditation l the master you don t go to service i observe mr said he coldly no sir i had some business to detain me it is very near to my heart that my household should set a good example there are so few educated in this district that a great upon us if we do not live up to the highest how can we expect these poor workers to do so it is a dreadful thing to r that the parish takes a great deal more interest in an approaching glove fi t than in their religious duties a glove fight sir i ta t to be the correct term one of my tells me that it is the talk of the a local a patient of ours by the way is matched against a over at i cannot understand why the law does not step m and stop so degrading an exhibition ii is really a prize fight a glove fi t you said i am informed that a two glove is an by which they the law and make it difficult for the police to interfere they contend for a sum of money it seems dreadful and almost incredible does it not to think that such scenes can be within a few miles of our peaceful home but you will mr that there are such influences for ms to it is very necessary that we i ould live up to our the doctor s sermon would have had more effect if the assistant had not on or twice had occasion to test his highest and come upon it at the master unexpectedly humble it is so particularly easy to compound for sins we re most to by those we have no mind to in any case felt that of all the men concerned in such a spectators it is the who holds the strongest and most honourable position his conscience gave him no concern upon the subject endurance and courage are virtues not vices and is at least better than tha e was a little tobacco shop at the comer tf the street where got his bird s eye and also his local information for the was a soul who knew everything about the affairs of the district the assistant strolled down there after tea and asked in a casual whether the had ever heard of the master of heard of hun heard of him the little man could hardly articulate in his astonishment why sir he s the first mon o the district an his name s as well known in the west riding as the o t but lor sir here he stopped and among a heap of papers they are a about him on account o his wi ted and so the herald has ms life an record an here it is an thou read it for the sheet of the paper which he held up was a lake of print around an of illustration the latter was a coarse wood cut of a s head and neck set in a cross barred it was a sinister but powerful the face of a hero strongly eye keen	4
eyed with a huge jaw and an beneath the master it the long obstinate cheeks ran flush up to the narrow sinister eyes the mighty neck came down square from the ears and curved outward into shoulders which had lost nothing at the hands of the local artist above was written and beneath the master of thou ll find all about him there sir said the he s a he is and re re proud to have him in the county if he hadn t his leg d have been champion of broke his leg has he yes and it set badly they ca him k behind his for is how his two legs look but his arms well if they was both d to a bench as the is i wonder where the champion of england would be then i ll take this with me said and putting the into his pocket he returned home it was not a cheering record which he read there the whole history of the master was given in full his many his few bom in said the provincial better known in sporting as the master of is now in his year hang it i m only twenty three said to himself and read on more cheerfully having in his youth shown a surprising for the game he fought his way up his comrades until he became the recognised of the district and won the proud title which e still holds ambitious of a more than local fame he secured a patron and t his first fight against jack of in may the master at the old club who at ten stone two at the time had better of rounds and gained an on points against the having disposed of james of of and a youth named he was thought so highly of by the fancy that he was matched against at that time middle weight champion of the north of england and defeated him in a battle knocking him out in the tenth round after a contest at this period it looked as if the very honours of the ring were within the reach of the young but he was laid upon the shelf by a most unfortunate accident the kick of a horse broke his and for a year he was compelled to rest himself when he returned to his work the had set badly and his activity was much it was owing to this that he was defeated in seven rounds by the man whom he had previously beaten and afterward by james of london though the latter acknowledged that he had found ue customer of his career by his the master adapted the style of his fighting to his physical and resumed his career of victory the black and the latter a heavy weight two stone he fought a draw with the famous and afterward for a purse of fifty pounds he defeated sam hare at the club l in a decision was given against him upon a foul when fighting a winning fight against jim the middle and so was he by the decision that he withdrew from the ring l the master since then he has hardly fought at all save to ac any who may wish to learn the difference between a bar room scramble and a scientific contest the latest of these ambitious souls comes from the coal which have undertaken to put up a stake of and back their local champion there e various afloat as to who their representative is to be the name of ted being mentioned but the which is seven to one on the master against any man is a fair reflection of the feeling of the community read it over twice and it left him with a very serious face no light matter this which he had undertaken no battle with a tumble who presumed upon a local reputation the man s record showed that he was class or nearly so there were a few points in his favour and he must make the most of them there was twenty three against forty there was an ring proverb that youth will be served but the annals of the ring offer a great number of exceptions a hard full of cool and ring craft could give ten or fifteen years and a beating to most he could not rely too much upon his advantage in age but then there was the that must surely count for a great deal and lastly there was the chance that the master might his opponent that he might be in his training and refuse to abandon his usual way of life if he thought that he had an easy task before him in a man of his age and habits this seemed very possible prayed that it might be so meanwhile if his opponent were the best man who ever l the master jumped the ropes into a ring his own duty was clear he must prepare himself carefully throw away no chance and do the very best that he could but he knew enough to appreciate the which exists in as m every sport between the amateur and the professional the coolness the power of above all the of taking punishment count for so much those q developed like muscles of the will take without a blow which would leave man on the ground such things are not to be in a week but all that could be done in a week should be done the medical assistant had a good basis to start from he was feet inches tall enough for anything on two legs as the old ring men used to say and spare with the activity of a and a strength which had hardly yet ever found its his muscular development was finely hard but his power came rather horn that hi er nerve	4
energy which counts for nothing upon a measuring he had the well curved nose and the widely opened eye which never yet were seen upon the face of a and behind everything he had the driving force which came from the knowledge that his whole career was at stake upon the contest the three their when they saw him at work the ball in the next morning and the who had written to to hedge his sent a wire to the letter and to lay another fifty at the market price of seven to one s chief difficulty was to find time for his training without any interference from the l the master doctor his work took him a large part of the day but as the visiting was done on foot and considerable had to be traversed it was a training in for the rest he the swinging ball and worked with the dumb bells for an hour every morning and and twice a day with ted in the as much profit as could be got from a slower was of admiration for his and quickness but doubtful about his strength hard was the feature of his own style and he it from others lord sir that s a poor for an eleven stone man i he would cry thou wilt have to bit harder than that afore t master will know that thou art ah s better mon s fine i he would add as his opponent lifted him across tiie room on the end of a counter s how i likes to feel em pull through yet he chuckled with joy when knocked him into a comer eh mon thou art along grand thou hast me off my legs do it again lad do it the part of s training came the doctor s m was ms diet and that ed him considerably you will excuse my remarking mr that you are becoming rather particular in your tastes such ds are not to be encouraged in one s why do you eat toast with every meal i find that it suits me better than bread sir it unnecessary work upon the cook i observe also that you have turned against potatoes the master yes sir i think that i am better without them and u no longer drink your beer no sir these and fancies are very much to be mr c how many there are to whom these very potatoes and this very beer would be most acceptable no doubt sir but at present i prefer to do without them they were sitting alone at lunch and the assistant thought that it would be a good opportunity of asking leave for the day of the fight i should be glad if you could let me have leave saturday dr it is very inconvenient upon so busy a day i should do a double day s work on friday so as to leave everything in order i should hope to be back in the evening i am afraid i cannot spare you mr this was a if he could not get leave he would go without it you will remember dr that when i came to you it was understood that i should have a clear day every month i have never one but now there are reasons why i wish to have a holiday upon saturday dr gave in with a very bad grace of course if you insist i ion your formal rights there is no more to be said mr though i feel that it shows a certain indifference to my comfort and the re of the practice do you still insist h the master yes mr very good have your way the doctor was boiling over with anger but was a valuable assistant steady and hard working and he could not as ford to lose him even if he had been prompted to advance those class for which his assistant had appealed it would have been against his interests to do so for he did not wish him to and he desired him to remain in his subordinate position in which he worked so hard for so small a was something in the cool insist ice of the young man a quiet resolution in his voice as he claimed his saturday which aroused his i have no desire to into with your affairs mr but were you thinking of having a day in upon saturday no sir in the country yes sir you are very wise you will find a quiet day among the wild flowers a very valuable had you thought of any particular direction i am going over way well there is no country when once you are past the iron works what could be more delightful than to lie upon the in the with perhaps some instructive and book as your companion i should recommend a visit to the ruins of st s church a very interesting of the early era by the way there is one ot which i see to your going to on saturday it is upon that date as i am informed that that glove fight the master takes place you may find yourself hy the whom it will attract i will take my chance of that sir said the assistant on the friday night which was the last before the fight mon s three assembled in the and their man as he went through some light exercises to keep his muscles he was certainly in splendid condition his skin shining with health and his eyes energy and confidence the three walked round him and he s simply i said t e by you ve come out of it splendidly you re as hard as a and fit to fight for your life happen ne s a trifle on the fine side said the runs a bit light at the to my way of	4
what weight to day ten ne eleven the assistant that s only three in a week s said the he said right when he said that he was in c m well it s fine stuff all there is of it but i m so sure as there is enough he kept his finger into as if he were one of his horses i hear the master will scale a hundred and six odd at the ring side but there s some of that which he d like well to off and leave behind wi his shirt said i hear they ve had a rare job to get him to drop his beer and if it had not been for that red headed of his they d never ha done it she fair the face on a that had brought him a from t they say the master the is his as well as his sweetheart and that his poor wife is just her heart it young un what do you want the door of the had opened and a lad about sixteen and black with and iron stepped into the yellow glare of the oil lamp ted seized him by the collar see here thou this is private and we want o thy i but i speak to mr the young ed forward my lad what is it it s t fight mr sir i wanted to tell your t muster we ve no time to listen to gossip my boy we know all about the master but thou t sir nobody knows but me and mother and we thought as we d like thy mon to know sir for we want to him oh you want the master r do you so do we well what have you to say is this your mon sir well suppose it is then it s him i want to tell it t is blind o the left ey it s true sir not stone blind but rarely he keeps it secret but knows ai so do i if thou slip him on the left side he can t thee it right as i tell thee and mark him when he sinks his right tis his best blow his right upper cut t s th ca it at t works it s a blow when it do come home the master thank you my boy this is information w th having about his sight how c me you to know so much who are you i m his son sir whistled and who sent you to us my mother i get back to her again take this half crown no sir i don t seek money in here i do it for love suggested the for hate i the boy and darted off into the darkness seems to me t red headed may do him more harm than good after all remarked the and now mr sir you ve done enough for this an a nine hours sleep is the best before a battle happen this time to morrow night you ll be safe back again with your in your pocket n was struck at one o clock at the co and tiie iron works and the fight was arranged for three from the from s coal from the mine m the mills from the the workmen came each with his fox or his at his heels with labour and twisted by toil bent double by week long work in the cramped coal galleries or half with years spent m front of white hot metal these men gilded their harsh and lives the master by devotion to sport it was one relief t e only thing which could their mind from sordid surroundings and give them an interest beyond the blackened circle which them literature art science all these things were beyond the horizon but the race the match the the fight these were things which they could understand which they upon in advance and comment upon sometimes brutal sometimes grotesque the love of sport is stiu one of the great which make for the happiness of our people it lies very deeply in the springs of our nature and when it has been educated out a higher more refined nature may be left but it will not be of that robust british type which has left its mark so deeply on the world every one of these workers with his dog at his heels to see something of the fight was a true of his race it was a may day with bright and driving showers worked all morning in the getting his medicine made up the weather seems so very unsettled mr remarked the doctor that i am inclined to that you had better your little country excursion until a later date i am a ud that i must go to day sir i have just had an intimation that mrs at the other side of wishes to see me it is probable that i shall oe there all day it will be extremely inconvenient to leave the house empty so long i am very sorry sir but i must go the l the master the doctor saw that it would be useless to and departed in the worst of bad upon his mission felt easier now that de was gone he went up to his room and packed his running shoes his fighting drawers and his into a hand bag when he came down mr was waiting for him in the i hear the doctor has gone yes he is likely to be away all day i don t see that it matters much it s bound to come to his ears by to night yes it s serious with me mr if i win it s all right i don t mind telling you that the hundred pounds will make all the to me but if	4
i lose i shall lose my situation for as you say i can t keep it secret never mind we ll see you through us i only wonder the doctor has not x it s all ov the country that you are to fi t the champion we ve had up about it he s the master s you know he wasn t sure that you were eligible the master said he wanted you whether you were eligible or not has money on and would have made if he could but i showed him that you came within the conditions of the challenge and he agreed that it was all tight th think they have a soft thing on well i can only do my best said they together a silent and rather ner for s mind was of what was before him and had himself more money at stake than he cared to lose s carriage and were at the door the the master with blue and white at their which were the colours of the coal well known on many a field at the avenue te a crowd of some hundred and their wires gave a cheer as the carriage passed to the assistant it all seemed dream uke and extraordinary the strangest experience of his life but with a thrill of human action and interest in it which made it passionately absorbing he lay back in the open carriage and saw the fluttering handkerchief from the doors and windows of the cottages had pinned a blue and white upon his coat and every one knew him as their good luck good luck to thee i they shouted from the roadside he felt that it was like some knight riding down to sordid lists but there was something in it all the same he fought for as well as for himself he might fail from want of skill or strength but deep in his sombre soul he vowed that it never be for want of heart mr was just mounting into his with his little bit of blood between the he waved his and fell in behind the carriage they overtook the faced upon the road with his wife in her sunday bonnet they also dropped into the procession and then as they traversed the seven miles of the high road to their carriage became gradually the of a wiu a loosely tail from every side road came the carts the humble traps black and with their loads of noisy open hearted they for a long quarter of a the master mile behind them shouting galloping swearing ana were with the and then suddenly a of the who were having their annual training in parts ana out of a field and rode as an escort to the carriage through the dust clouds round him saw the gleaming brass the bright coats and the tossing heads of the the delighted brown faces of the it was more dream like than ever and then as they approached the monstrous uncouth line of bottle shaped s which marked uie works of their long snake of dust was headed on by another but longer one which wound across their path the road into which their own was filled by the rushing current of traps the halted until the others should get past the cheered and groaned according to their humour as they whirled past their rough flew back and forward like iron nuts and of coal brought him up then i got t for to fetch him back where s t k legs mon mon have thy photograph took mind thee of what thou used to took i he fight he s now t but a half baked doctor i happen hell doctor thy champion afore he s through wi t so they flashed at each other as the one side waited and the other passed then there came a rolling murmur swelling into a shout and a great break with four horses came along all streaming with salmon pink ribbons the w wore a mate hat with pink and beside him the on the high seat were a man and a woman she with her arm round his waist had one glimpse of them as they flashed past he with a cap drawn low over his brow a great coat and a pink round his throat she brazen red bright coloured laughing excitedly the master for it was he turned as he passed gazed hard at and gave him a menacing gap grin it was a hard wicked face blue and with long obstinate cheeks and inexorable eyes the break was full of of the sport flushed iron heads of one was drinking from a metal and raised it to as he passed and then the crowd and the with their swept in at the rear of the others the road led away from between green hills and by the for coal and iron the whole country had been and vast piles of refuse and mountains of suggested the mighty chambers which the labour of man had beneath on the left the road curved up to where a huge building and stood crumbling and forlorn with the light shining through the squares that s the old s that s where the fight is to be said how are you feeling now thank you i was never better in my life by i like your nerve said who was himself flushed and uneasy you ll give us a fight for our mon come what may that place on the master the right is the office and that has been set aside as the dressing and weighing room the carriage drove up to it amidst the shouts of the folk upon the lines of empty carriages and traps curved down upon the rom and a black crowd round the door of the ruined tory the seats	4
as a huge announced were five shillings three and a shilling with half price for dogs the expenses were to go to the and it was a evident that a larger stake than a pounds was in question a of voices rose from the door the workers wished to bring their dogs in free the mai the dogs the crowd was a whirling pool with a roar up to the narrow which was its only outlet the break with its salmon coloured and four horses stood empty before the door of the office and passed in there was a large bare room inside with square clean patches upon the walls where pictures and had once worn covered the floor but there was no save some benches and a deal table with a and a basin upon it two of the comers were off in the middle of the room was a a fat man with a salmon tie and a blue waist coat with bird s eye spots came bustling up to them it was the butcher and well known for miles round as a warm man and the most liberal patron of sport in the riding well well he in a thick l the master voice you hare come then g t your man got your man here he is fit and well mr let me present you to mr glad to meet you sir ha y to make your acquaintance i make bold to say sir that we of admire your courage mr and that our only hope is a fight and no favour and the best man win that s our sentiment at and it is my sentiment also said the assistant well you can t say fairer than that mr you ve taken a large in hand but a large may be carried through sir as any one knows my dealings could testify the master is ready to weigh in i so am i you must weigh in the looked at the tall woman who was standing gazing out of the window that s all right said get behind the and put on your fighting he did so and came out the picture of an in white loose drawers canvas shoes and the of a well known club round his waist he was trained to a hair his skin gleaming like silk and every muscle rippling down broad shoulders and along his beautiful arms as he moved them they into ivory or slid into long curves as he raised or lowered his hands what thou o that asked ted his second of the woman in the window she glanced contemptuously at the young it s but a poor kindness thou dost him to put the master a thread paper like yon a mon as is a mon why my would him wi one lashed behind him happen he may happen not said i have out in the world but it s on him eveiy penny and no but here s t ana fine he do look the had come out from his curtain a figure monstrous in chest and arms on his distorted leg his skin had none of the and clearness of s but was dusky and with one huge amid the mat of tangled black hair which his mighty breast his t bore no relation to his strength for those huge shoulders and great arms with brown fists would have fitted the heaviest man that ever threw his cap into a ring but his and legs were slight in proportion on the other hand was as as a greek statue it would be an between a man who was specially fitted for one sport and one who was equally capable of any the two looked curiously at each other a and a high bred clean each full m spirit how do you do how do the master grinned again and his three jagged teeth gleamed for an instant the rest had been beaten out of him in twenty years of battle he upon the floor we have a rare line day fort capital said that s the good i use the t butcher good lads both of them i prime lads i hard meat an good bone there s no iu l the master if he downs me bless him i said the an if we down him help him i the woman hand thy i said the master impatiently who art thou to put in thy word happen i might draw my hand across thy ce the woman did not take the threat amiss wilt have enough for thy hand to do said she quit o this man afore thou turn on me the lovers quarrel was interrupted l the entrance of a new comer a gentleman with a overcoat and a very shiny top hat a top hat of a degree of which is seldom seen five miles m park this hat he wore at the extreme back of his head so that the lower sur ce of the brim made a kind of frame for his bald forehead his keen eyes his rugged and yet kindly face he m with the quiet air of possession with which the ring master enters the it s mr the from london said how do you do mr i was introduced to you at the big fight at the club in ah i dare say said the other shaking hands fact is i m introduced to so that i can t undertake to carry their names i is it well mr glad to see you couldn t get a fly at the station and that s why i m late i m sure sir said we should be proud that any one so well known in the world should come down to our httle the master not at au not at all anything in the of all ready men weighed	4
weighing now sir ah just as well i should see it done seen you before saw you fight your second battle against you had beaten him once but he came back on you what does the say one hundred and sixty three pounds two off for the one hundred and sixty one now my lad you jump my goodness what colours are you wearing the club what ri t hare you to wear them i belong to the club myself so do i you an amateur yes sir and you are ting for a money prize yes i suppose you know what you are doing you that you re a professional from this onward and that if ever you fi t again i ll never fight again happen you won t said the woman and the master turned a terrible eye upon her well i suppose you know your own business best up you jump one hundred and fifty one two one hundred and forty nine twelve pounds difference but youth and condition on the other scale well the sooner we get to work the better for i wish to catch the seven o clock express at twenty three minute rounds with one minute intervals and rules those are the are they not yes sir the master very good then we may go across the two had thrown over their shoulders and the whole party seconds and the filed out of the room a police was waiting for them in the road he had a in his that terrible weapon which even the london i must take your names gentlemen in case it should be necessary to proved for breach of peace you t mean to stop the fight cried in a passion of indignation i m mr of and this is mr and we ll be responsible that ell is ir and as it should be i ll take the names in case it should be necessary to proceed said the but you know me well if you was a or even a judge it would be all the same said the it s the law and there s an end ill not take upon myself to stop the fight seeing that gloves are to be used but i ll take the names of all concerned robert edward james of london who seconds i do said the woman yes you can stare but it s my job and no one else s s the name four a s johnson johnson if you him you can me who talked of ye fool growled the master on mr tor i m ur sick o this the master the fell in with the procession and proceeded as they walked up the to in his official capacity for a front seat where he could the interests of the law and in his private capacity to lay out thirty shillings at to one with mr the door they passed down a narrow lane walled with a dense of humanity up a wooden ladder to a platform over a rope which was waist high from four comer and then that he was in that ring in which immediate destiny was to be out on the stake at one comer there hung a blue and white led him across the overcoat loosely from his shoulders and he sat down on a wooden stool and another man both wearing white stood beside him the so c ed ring was a square twenty feet each way at the opposite angle was the sinister figure of the master with his red headed woman and a rough faced to look after him at each comer were metal of water and during the and uproar of the entrance was too bewildered to take things in but now there was a few minutes delay for the had lingered behind and so he looked quietly about him it was a sight to haunt him for a lifetime wooden seats had been built in sloping to the tops of the walls above instead of a ceiling a great flight of passed slowly across a square of grey cloud right up to the benches the folk were m and behind turned everywhere upon him the grey of the master the pipes filled the building and the air was f nt with the smell of cheap strong tobacco among the human were to be seen the heads of the dogs they growled and from the back benches in that dense mass of humanity one could hardly pick out individuals but s eyes caught the brazen gleam of the held upon the knees f the ten of his escort at the very edge of the platform sat the five of them three and two all the way firom london but where was the all important there was no sign of him unless he were in the centre of that angry of men near the door mr had stopped to examine the gloves which were to be used and entered the building after the he had started to come down that narrow lane with the human walls which led to the ring but already it had gone abroad that the champion was a gentleman and that another gentleman had been appointed as a wave of suspicion passed h the folk they would have one of their own people for a they would not have a stranger his path was stopped as he made for the ring excited men flung themselves in front of him they waved their fists in his ce and cursed him a woman howled vile names in his ear somebody struck at him with an umbrella go thou back to we want o thee thou back i they with his shiny hat cocked backward and his large forehead swelling m under it looked round him from beneath his brows the master he was in the centre of a savage	4
and dangerous mob then he drew his watch om his pocket and held it dial upward in his in three minutes said he i will declare the fight off they raged round him his cool ce and that top hat irritated them hands were raised but it was difficult somehow to strike a man who was so absolutely indifferent in two minutes i declare the fight off they exploded into the breath of angry men smoked into his placid ce a fist at the end of his nose we tell thee we want o thee get thou back where thou com st firom in one minute i declare the fight off then the calm of the man conquered the swaying passionate crowd let him through mon happen be no after a let him through bill thou let him pass dost want the fight declared off make room for the room for the and half pushed half carried he was swept up to the ring there were two chairs by the side ot it one for him and one for the he sat down his hands on his knees his hat at a more wonderful angle than ever but solemn with the aspect of one who his mr the butcher made his way into the ring and held up two hands sparkling with rings as a signal for silence the master gentlemen he and then in a shriek gentlemen and ladies cried somebody for indeed there was a ir of women the crowd speak up man shouted another what price pork cried somebody at the back everybody laughed and the dogs began to bark waved his hands amidst the uproar as if he were conducting an at last the into silence gentlemen he the match is between whom we call the master of and robert of the coal the match was to be under eleven eight a en they were weighed just now weighed and ten nine the conditions of the contest are the best of twenty three minute rounds with two gloves should the fight run to its foil length it will of course be decided upon points mr the well known london has kindly consented to see k play i wish to that mr and i the chief of the two men have confidence in mr and that we tliat you will accept his without dispute he then turned om one to the other with a wave of his hand the master iii i said h a great hush fell over the huge assembly even the dogs stopped one might have thought that the monstrous room was empty the two men had stood up the small white gloves over their hands they advanced from their comers and shook hands gravely with a smile then they fell into position e crowd gave a long sigh the of a thousand excited the his chair on to its back legs and looked critical from the one to the other it was strength against activity that was evident from the first the master stood upon his k leg it gave him a tremendous one could hard imagine his knocked down and he could round upon it with extraordinary quickness but his advance or retreat was his frame however was so much larger and broader than that of the student and his brown massive ce looked so resolute and menacing that the hearts of the party sank within them there was one heart however which had not done so it was that of robert any which he may have had completely passed away now that he had his work before mm here was something definite this with a career as the price of beating him he glowed with the joy of action it his nerves he the master his man with little in and out steps to the left breaking to the right feeling his way while with a dull eye slowly upon his weak leg his left ann half extended his ri ht sunk low across the mark led with his left and then led again getting lightly home each time he tried again but the master had his counter ready and back a harder blow than he the woman gave a shrill cry of encouragement and her man let fly his right under it and in an instant the two were in each other s arms break away i break away said the the master struck upward on the break and shook with the blow then it was time it had been a spirited opening round the people into comment and applause was quite but the chest of the master was and falling the man passed a over his head while the him good i good i cried the crowd and cheered her the men were up again the master watchful as alert as a the master tried a sudden rush along with his awkward gait but coming faster than one would think the student slipped aside and avoided him the master stopped grinned and shook his head then he with his hand as an invitation to to come to him the student did so and led with his left but got a swinging right counter in the ribs in exchange the heavy blow staggered him and the master came in to complete his advantage but with the master his greater activity kept out of until the call of time a tame round and the advantage with the master t s too strong for him said a to his neighbour ay but t other s a likely lad happen veil see some sport yet he can rarely but t can stop hit happen hell him when he gets his upon him they were up again the water glistening upon their faces led instantly and got his light home with a sounding upon the mast s forehead there was s shout om the and silence i	4
from the avoided the counter and with his fresh applause and the upon his feet in indignation no comments gentlemen if you please during the rounds just bide a bit i growled the mast don t talk said the angrily rubbed in the point by a flush hit upon the mouth and the mast back to his comer like an angry bear having had all the worst of the round where s seven to one shouted take six to there were no answers five to one there were at that them in a tattered began to feel happy he lay back with with his legs outstretched his back against the comer post and one hand upon each rope what a delicious minute it was between each round if he could only ke out of harm s bv the master he must surely wear this man out before the end of twenty rounds he was so slow that all his went for nothing you re a t a fight ted whispered in his ear go no chances you have him proper but the master was he had fought so many battles with his limb that he knew how to make the best of it and slowly he round stepping forward and yet again forward he had backed him into his comer the student suddenly saw a flash of triumph upon the grim face a j in the dull malignant eyes the master was upon him he sprang aside and was on the ropes the master smashed in one of his terrible upper cuts and half broke it with his guard the student sprang the other way and was against the other rope he was in the angle the master sent in another with a which spoke of the energy behind it hut got a from the left the mark he man break away i break away i cried the disengaged and got a swinging blow on the ear as he d so it had been a round for him and the people were shouting their delight gentlemen i will not have this noise i roared i have been accustomed to at a well conducted club and not at a bear garden this little man with the hat and the forehead the whole assembly he was like a among his boys he glared round him and nobody to meet his eye ht l g the master had kissed the master he resumed his seat good do t a in cried the laughing crowd and the angry master shook his at ner as she her in front of him was weary aad a little sore but not depressed he had learned something he would not again be tempted into danger for three rounds the honours were equal the student s was the quicker the master s the harder by his lesson kept himself in the open and refused to be into a comer sometimes the master succeeded in rushing him to the side ropes but the younger man slipped away or closed and then disengaged the monotonous break away i break away i of the broke in upon the quick low of rubber shoes the dull of the blows and the sharp hissing breath of two tired men the ninth round found both of them in good condition s head was still from the blow that he had in the comer and one of his pained him and seemed to be the master showed no sign of a touch but his breathing was the more and a long line of upon the s paper showed that the student had a good show of points but one of this iron man s blows was worth three of his and he knew that without the gloves he could not have stood for three rounds him all the amateur work that he had done was the merest tapping and when compared to those frightful blows from aims by the and the it was the tenth round and the fight was half over the now was only three to one for j the master the champion had held his own much better than had been expected but those who knew the ring craft as well as the staying power of the old prize knew that the odds were still a long way in his favour have a care of him t whispered as he sent his man up to the scratch have a care i he ll play thee a trick if he can but saw or imagined he saw that his was he looked and and hands drooped a little from their position his own youth and condition were beginning to tell he in and brought off a fine left handed lead the master s return lacked his usual fire again led and again he got home then he tried his right upon the mark and the master guarded it downward too too low a foul a foul i a thousand voices the rolled his eyes slowly round seems to me this is of said he the people laughed and applauded but their was as to him as their anger no applause please this is not a theatre i he was very pleased with himself his adversary was evidently in a bad way he was on his points and establishing a lead he might as well make hay while the sun shone the master was looking all abroad one upon his blue and got away without a return and then the master suddenly dropped both his hands and rubbing his that was it was it he muscular l i l the master go in go in cried sprang wildly forward and the next instant was lying senseless his neck nearly broken in the middle of the ring the whole round had been a long conspiracy to tempt him within reach of one of those terrible right hand upper cuts for which the master	4
was in him to his appointed task was the greatest thing their experience ever known but the master s naturally temper became more and more at this the master ment of his hopes three rounds ago the had in his hands now it was all to do over again round by round his man was recovering his strength by the he was strong again in wind and limb but the saw something which her that in t ribs is telling on him she why else he be t brandy go in lad and thou hast him yet had suddenly taken the from s hand and had a deep pull at the contents then with his face a httle flushed and with a curious look of purpose which made the stare hard at him in his eyes he rose for the sixteenth round game as a i cried the as he looked at the set ce mix it lad mix it cried the to master and then a hum of exultation ran through ranks as they that their harder stronger man held the after all neither of the men showed much sign of punishment small gloves crush and but they do not cut one of the master s eyes was even more flush with his cheek than nature had made it had two or three livid marks his body and his ce was save for that pink spot which the brandy had brought into either cheek he rocked a little as he stood opposite his man and his hands drooped as if he felt the gloves to be an unutterable weight it was evident that he was spent and desperately if he received one other blow it must surely be fatal to him if he t one home what power could the master be behind it and what chance was there of its the in front of him it was the crisis of the fight this round must decide it mix it lad mix it the iron men even the savage eyes of the were unable to restrain the excited crowd now at last the chance had come for he had learned a lesson from his more experienced rival why should he not play hb own game upon him he was spent but not nearly so t as he pretended that brandy was to call up his to let him have strength to take advantage of the opening it came it was thrilling and through his veins at the very moment when ne was and rocking like a beaten man he acted his part admirably the master felt that there was an easy task before him and rushed in with activity to finish it once for all he slap away left and ri ht up the ropes in his ferocious blows those animal which told of the vicious energy behind but was too cool to a victim to any of those cuts he kept out of harm s way with a rigid guard an active foot and a head which was swift to and yet he contrived to present the same appearance of a man who is hopelessly done the master weary from his own shower of blows and fearing nothing from so weak a man dropped his hand for an instant and at that instant s right came home it was a magnificent blow t clean crisp with the force of the and the back it and it landed where he had meant it to upon the the master exact point of that blue chin flesh and blood could not stand such a blow in such a place neither nor can save the man to whom it comes the master fell backward flat prostrate striking the ground with so a clap that it was like a falling a wall a yell which no could control broke fix m the crowded benches as the giant went down he lay upon his back his knees a little drawn up his huge chest panting he and shook but not move his feet once or twice it was no use he was done ei t nine ten i said the er and the of a thousand voices with a clap uke the of a ship told that the master of was the master no more stood half dazed looking down at the huge prostrate figure he could hardly that it was indeed over he saw the motion toward him with his hand he heard his name in triumph from every side and then he was aware of some one rushing toward him he caught a glimpse of a flushed face and an of red hair a fist struck him between the eyes and he was on his back in the ring beside his ant while a dozen of his were endeavouring to secure the frantic he heard the angry shouting of the the screaming of the furious woman and the cries of the mob then something seemed to break like string and he sank into the deep deep mist abyss of the dressing was like a thing in a dream and so was a vision of the master with the grin of a upon his ce and his three teeth pro l the master he shook heartily by the hand i would have been rare pleased to shake thee by the lad a short while said he but i bear no ill again thee it was a rare that brought me down i have not had a better since my second fight wi in happen thou might think o goin further wi this if thou dost and want a there s not much inside t ropes as i don t know or happen thou might like to try it wi me old style and bare thou hast but to write to t iron works to nd me but any such ambition a canvas with his share one	4
hundred and ninety sovereigns was handed to him of which he gave ten to the master who also received some sha of the gate then with young him on one side on the other and carrying his bag behind he went in triumph to his and drove amid a long roar which lined the like a hedge for the seven miles back to starting point it s the greatest thing i ever saw in my life by it s i cried who had been left in a kind of ecstasy w the events of the day there s a chap over way who himself a bit let us spring you on him and let him see what he can make of you we ll put up a purse won t we you shall want a at his t said the i m behind him i am for twenty rounds and no age country or colour l the master so am said middle t of the world that s what he is here in tlie same carriage with us but was not to be b no i have my own work to do now and what may that be use this money to get my medical degree well we ve plenty of doctors but you re the only man in the riding that could the master off his legs however i suppose you know your own business best you re a doctor you d best come down into these parts and you ll find a job waiting for you at the coal had returned by ways to the the horses were at the door and the doctor was just back from his long journey several had called in his absence and he was in the worst of i suppose i should be glad that you have come back at all mr be when next you elect to take a holiday i trust it will not be at so busy a time i sorry sir you should have been yes sit i have been exceedingly here for the first time he looked hard at the assistant good heavens mr what have you been doing with your left eye it was where had lodged her protest laughed it is nothing sir said he and you have a livid mark under your jaw it is indeed terrible that my representative should the master be about in so a condition how did you receive these injuries well dr as you know was a little to day over at and you got mixed up with that brutal crowd i was rather mixed up with them and who you one of the which of them the master of good heavens i perhaps you interfered with weu to tell the i did a uttle mr in such a practice as mine intimately associated as it is with the highest and most elements of our small community it is impossible but just then the of a searching for his upon their ears and an instant later the brass band was in full with see the conquering hero comes outside the window there was s waving and a shouting crowd of what is it what does it mean cried the angry doctor it means sir that i have in the only y which was open to me earned the money which is necessary for my education it is my duty dr to warn you that i am about to to the university and that you should lose no time in my successor the it was in the days when france s power was already broken upon the seas and when more of her three lay in the than were to be found in but her and still the ocean closely followed ever by those of her rival at the ends of the earth these dainty vessels with sweet names of girls or of flowers and shattered each other for the honour of the four yards of which from the end of their it had hard in the night but the wind had dropped with the dawning and now the rising sun tinted the fringe of the storm as it into the west and on the endless of the long green waves to north and south and west lay a which was unbroken save by the of when two of the great atlantic seas dashed each other into spray to the east was a rocky island out into points with a few scattered of palm trees and a of mist streaming out from the bare hill which it a heavy surf beat i on the shore and at a safe distance from it the british gun a p johnson raised her black side upon the crest of a wave or down into an valley dipping away to the nor ard under easy sail on her snow white quarter deck stood a stiff httle man who swept the horizon with his glass l the mr i he cried with a voice like a rusty a thin knock officer across the to him yes sir i ve opened the sealed mr a glimmer of curiosity shone upon the meagre features of the first lieutenant the had with her the from the week before and the admiral s orders had been contained in a sealed envelope we were to open them on reaching the deserted island of lying in north latitude eighteen thirty six west sixty three twenty eight bore four miles to the north east from our port bow when the gale cleared mr the lieutenant bowed stiffly he and the captain had been bosom friends from childhood they had gone to school together joined the navy together fought again and again together and married into each other s but so long as their feet were on the the iron discipline of the service struck all that was human out of them and left only the superior and the subordinate	4
captain johnson took from his pocket a blue paper which as he unfolded it the gun a f johnson and james are to from the point at which these instructions are read to the mouth of the sea in the hope of the french la which has recently harassed our merchant ships in that quarter h m are also directed to the hunt down the known sometimes as the and sometimes as the hairy which has the british ships as per margin upon their she is a small carrying ten light guns with one twenty four pound forward she was last seen upon the rd to the north east of the island of signed james h m s we appear to have lost our captain johnson folding up his and again sweeping the horizon with his glass she away after we down it would be a pity if we met this heavy frenchman without the mr eh the and smiled she has eighteen on the main and on the sir said the captain she carries four hunt ed to our two hundred and captain de is the man in the french service oh boy i d give my hopes of my to rub my side up against he turned on his heel ashamed of lapse mr said he looking back sternly over his shoulder get those square sails out and bear away a point more to the west a on the port bow came a voice bom the a on the pent bow said the lieutenant the sprang upon the and held on by a strange little figure l the with flying skirts and eyes the lead lieutenant his neck and whispered to the second while officers and men came up from below and clustered along the weather rail their eyes with their hands for the tropical sun was already clear of the palm trees the strange lay at anchor in the throat of a and it was already obvious that she could not get out without under the guns of the a long point to the north of her her in keep her as she goes mr the captain hardly worth while our clearing for action mr but the men can stand by the guns in case she tries to pass us cast loose the bow and send the small arm men to the a british crew went to its quarters in those days with the quiet serenity of men on their daily routine in a few minutes fuss or sound ihe sailors were knotted round their guns the were drawn up and leaning on their and the s pointed straight tor ho little is it the sir i have no doubt of it mr they don t seem to like the look f us sir they ve cut their cable and are clapping on sail it was evident that the meant struggling for her freedom one little of canvas fluttered out above another and ner people could be seen working like in the she made no attempt to pass her but headed up the the captain rubbed his hands the she s making for water mr and we shall have to cut her out sir she s a httle but i should have t a would have been more handy it was a sir ah indeed i yes sir i heard of it at a bad business sir and two mates murdered this or as they call him led the a sir and a cruel villain as ever walked his next walk will be to execution dock mr she seems heavily i wish i could take twenty out of her but they would be enough to corrupt the crew of the mr both officers were looking through their j at the suddenly the lieutenant showed his teeth in a grin while the captain flushed a deeper red that s hairy on the after rail sir the low impertinent hell some other before we are done with him could you reach him with the long eighteen mr another cable length will do it sir the as they spoke and as she came round a of smoke out from her quarter it was a pure piece of for the gun could scarce carry way then with a swing the little ship came the wind and shot round a fresh curve in the winding channel the water s rapidly sir repeated the second lieutenant there s six by the the four by the lead sir when we clear this point we shall see how we lie i thought as much i lay her to mr now we have got her at our mercy i the was quite out of sight of the sea now at the head of this river like as she came round the curve the two shores were seen to at a point about a mile distant in the angle as near shore as she could get the was lying with her toward her and a of black cloth streaming om her mi n the lean lieutenant who had reappeared upon deck with a to his side and two pistols into his peered curiously at the is it the jolly sir he asked but the captain was he may where his breeches are hanging before i have done with him i said he what boats will you want mr we should do it with the and the take four and make a clean job of it pipe away the at once and ih work ha in and help you with the with a of ropes and a creaking of blocks the four boats into the water their clustered thickly into them sailors stolid laughing and in the sheets of each the senior officers with their stem faces the captain his elbows on the still watched the distant her crew were up the boarding drag round the guns knocking new for them and making	4
bower anchor of the t the of the upon the port side with a i c c the yell the black swarm of themselves for a spring but their feet were never to reach that deck from somewhere there came a of and and another the english and waiting with and behind the silent guns saw with amazement the dark masses and away at the same time the port of the frenchman burst into a roar clear away the wreck roared the captain what the devil are they firing at get the guns clear panted the we ll do them yet boys the was torn and and until first one gun and then another roared into action again the frenchman s anchor had cut away and the had worked herself from that fatal but now suddenly was a up the of the and a hundred englishmen were shouting themselves hoarse they re running i they re running i they re running i and it was true the had ceased to fire and was intent only upon clapping on every sail that he could carry but that hundred could not claim it all as their own as the smoke cleared it was not to see the reason the ships had gained the mouth of the during the fight and there about four miles out to sea was the s bearing down full sail to the sound of the guns captain de had done his part for one day and presently the was drawing off swiftly to the north the was along at her skirts the rattling away with her bow until a hid them both from view but the lay sorely stricken with her gone her shattered her and shot away her sails like a b s rags and a hundred her crew dead and close beside her a mass of floated upon the waves it was the stem post of a vessel and across it in white letters on a black ground was printed the by uie lord i it was the that saved us i cried mr brought her into action with the frenchman and was blown out of the water by a i the little captain turned on his heel and paced up and down the deck already his crew were the shot holes and and when he came back the lieutenant saw a softening of the stem lines about his eyes and mouth are they all gone every man they must have sunk the wreck the two officers looked down at the sinister name and at the stump of which floated in the water something black washed to and o beside a a of it was the outrageous ana near it a scarlet cap was floating he was a villain but he was a said the captain at last he lived like a dog but by god he died like a man the lord of it was in the days when the german armies bad broken their way across france and when the shattered forces of the young republic had been swept away to the north of the and to the south of the three broad streams of armed men had rolled slowly but irresistibly from the now to the north now to the south dividing but all to form one great lake round paris and from this lake there out smaller streams one to the north one southward to and a third westward to many a german saw the sea the time when he rode his horse deep into the waves at black and bitter were the thoughts of when they saw this of across the of their they had fought and they had been that those countless the guns they had tried and tried to make head against them in their were not to be beaten but man to man or ten to ten they were their equals a brave frenchman still make a single german the day that he had left his own bank of the thus amid the battles and the there broke out another war a war of individuals with foul murder upon the one side and brutal on the other colonel von of the th the lord of had suffered severely this new development he in the little town of and his stretched amid the and farm houses of the district no french force was within fifty miles of him and yet morning after morning he had to listen to a black report of found dead at their posts or of parties which had never returned thai the colonel would go forth in his wrath and would blaze and villages tremble but next morning there was still that same dismal tale to be told do what he might he could not shake off his invisible enemies and yet it should not have been so hard for from certain signs in common in the and in the deed it was certain that all these came from a single source colonel von had tried violence and it had gold might be more successful he it abroad over the that five would be paid for information there was no response then eight hundred the were then on by a murdered he rose to a thousand and so bought the soul of farm whose was a stronger passion than his french hatred you say that you know who did these crimes asked the colonel with the blue rat creature before him yes colonel and it was those thousand colonel not a sou until your story has been tested come i who is it who has murdered my men d g the lord of it is count of you lie cried the angrily a gentleman and a nobleman could not done such crimes the peasant his shoulders it is evident to me that you do not know the count it is this way colonel what i tell you is the truth and i	4
am not afraid that you should test it the of is a hard man even at the best time he was a man but of late he has been terrible it was his son s death you know his son was under and he was taken and then in escaping from germany he met his death it was the count s only child and indeed we all think that it has driven him mad with his he follows the german armies i do not know how many he has killed but it is be who cuts the cross upon the for it is the of his house it was true the had each had a cross across their brows as by a hunting knife the colonel bent bis stiff hack and ran his forefinger over the map which lay upon the table the ch is not more than four he said three and a colonel you know the place i used to work ther colonel von rang the bell give this man food ana detain him said be to the why me i can you no more we need you as guide the lord of into his hands ah the commander waved him away send captain to me at once said he the officer who answered the summons was a man of middle age heavy blue eyed with a yellow moustache and a brick red ce which turned to an ivory white where his had d it he was bald with a shining tightly stretched at the hack of which as in a mirror it was a favourite mess joke of the to trim their as a soldier he was slow but and brave the colonel could trust him where a more dashing officer might be in danger you will proceed to ch to said lie a guide has been provided you will arrest the count and bring him if there is an attempt at rescue shoot him at once how many men shall i take colonel well we are surrounded by and our only chance is to upon him before he knows that we are on the way a large force will attract on the other hand you must not risk being cut off i might march north colonel as if to join general g ben then i could turn down this road which i see upon your map and get to before they could hear of us in that case with twenty men very good captain i hope to see you with prisoner to morrow it was a cold december ni t captain marched out of les with his j bv the lord of and took the main road to the north west two miles out he turned suddenly down narrow deeply track and made i swiftly for his man a thin cold rain was among the tall trees and in the fields on either side the captain walked first with a beside him the s wrist was to that of the french peasant and it had been whispered in his ear that m case of an the bullet fired would be through his head behind them the twenty along through the darkness with faces sunk to the rain and boots in the soft wet clay they knew where they were going and why and the thought them for they were bitter at the loss of their comrades it was a cavalry job they knew but the cavalry were all on with the advance and besides it was more fitting that the regiment should its own dead men it was nearly eight when they left les at half past eleven their guide stopped at a place where two high pillars crowned with some a huge iron gate the wall in which it had been the opening had away but the great gate still above the and we which had its base the made their way round it and advanced stealthily imder the shadow of a of oak branches up the long avenue which was still by the leaves of last autumn at the top they halted and the black lay in front of them the moon had shone out between two rain clouds and threw the old house into silver and shadow it g l the lord of was shaped like an l with a low arched door in front and lines of small windows like the open ports of a man of war above was a dark roof breaking at the comers into little round overhanging the whole lying silent in the with a drift of ragged clouds the heavens behind it a single light gleamed in one of the lower windows the captain whispered his orders to his men some were to creep to the front door some to the back some were to watch the east and some the west he and the stole on to the lighted window it was a small room into which they looked very furnished an elderly man in the dress of a was reading a tattered paper by the light of a candle he leaned back in his wooden chair with his feet upon a box while a bottle of white wine stood with a half filled upon a stool beside him the thrust his needle gun through the glass and the man sprang to his feet with a shriek silence for your life i the house is surrounded and you cannot escape come round and open the door or we will show you no m when we come in for god s sake t shoot i i will open it i win open it t he rushed from the room with his paper still up in his hand an later with a groaning of old locks and a of bars the low door open and the poured into the stone passage i where is count de i my master i he is out sir out at	4
this time of night your life for a the lord of it is true sir he is out where i do not know doing what i cannot tell no it b no use your your pistol sir you may kill me but you cannot make me tell you that i do not is be often out at this hour frequently and when does he come home before daybreak captain out a german oath he had had his journey for nothing then the man s answers were only too likely to be true it was what he might have expected but at least he would search the house and make sure leaving a at the front door and another at the ba the and he drove the trembling butler in front of his shaking candle sending strange flickering shadows over uie old and the low oak they searched the whole house from the huge stone ed kitchen below to the dining hall on the floor with its gallery for and its black with age but nowhere was there a living up above in an they found the elderly wife of the butler but the owner kept no other servants and of his own presence there was no trace it was long however before captain had satisfied himself upon the point it was a difficult house to search thin stairs which only one man could ascend at a time connected lines of the walls so thick that each room was cut off from its huge yawned in each while the windows were the lord of six feet deep in the wall captain stamped with his feet and tore down curtains and struck with the of his sword if there were secret hiding places he was not fortunate enough to find i have an idea said he at last speaking in german to the you will place a over this fellow and make sure that ne with no one yes captain and you will place four men in at the front and at the it is likely enough that about daybreak our bird may return to the nest and the others captain let them have their in the kitchen this fellow will serve you with meat and wine it is a wild ni t and we shall be better here than on the country road and yourself captain i will take my supper up here in the the logs are laid and we can light the fire you will call me if there is any alarm what can you give me for supper you alas there was a time when i might have answered what you wish t but now it is all that we can do to find a bottle of new and a that will do very well let a guard go about with him and let him f the aid of a if he plays us any tricks captain was an old ner in the eastern provinces and before that in he had learned the art of himself upon the enemy while the butler brought his supper he occupied himself in making his l k the lord of for a comfortable t he lit the of ten candles upon the centre table the fire was already burning up merrily and sending of blue smoke into the room captain walked to the window and looked out the moon had gone in again and it was heavily he could hear the deep of tne wind and see the dark loom of the trees all swaying in the one direction it was a si t which gave a zest to his comfortable and to the cold fowl and the bottle of wine which i the butler had brought up for him he was tired and after his long tramp so he threw his sword his and his revolver belt down a chair and fell to eagerly upon his supper then with his glass of wine before him and his between his he his chair back and looked about him he sat within a small circle of li t which gleamed upon his silver shoulder and threw out his face his heavy eyebrows and his yellow moustache but outside that circle things were vague and shadowy ia the old two sides were oak and two were hung with across and dogs and were still dimly streaming above the fireplace were rows of with the of the family and of its the cross breaking out on each of them four s of old of ch the fireplace all men with hawk noses and bold high features so like each other that only the dress could distinguish the from the of the captain heavy the lord of with his lay back in his chair up at them through the clouds of his tobacco smoke and pondering over the strange chance which had sent him a man fix m the coast to eat his supper in the hall of these proud but the fire was hot and the captain s eyes were heavy his chin sank slowly upon his chest and the ten candles gleamed upon the broad white suddenly a slight noise brought him to his feet for an instant it seemed to his dazed senses that one of the pictures opposite had walked firom its frame there beside tne table and almost within arm s length of him was standing a huge man silent motionless with no sign of hfe save his fierce eyes he was black haired with a pointed of black beard and a great fierce nose toward which all his features seemed to run his cheeks were wrinkled hke a last year s apple but his sweep of shoulder and bony hands told of a strength which was by his arms were folded across his c est and his mouth was set in a fixed smile pray do not trouble yourself to look for your weapons he said as	4
the cast a swift glance at the empty chair in which they had been you have been if you will allow me to say so a httle to make yourself so much at home in a house every wall of which is hon with secret passages you will be amused to hear that men were watching you at your ah i what then captain had taken a step forward with clenched fists the frenchman held up the revolver which he grasped ia his right hand while the lord of with the left he the back into his chair pray keep your seat said he you have no cause to trouble about your men have already been provided for it is astonishing with these stone floors how little one can hear what goes on beneath you have been relieved of your command and have now only to think of yourself may i ask what your name is i am captain of the th re your french is excellent though you incline like most of your countrymen to turn uie p into a b i have been amused to hear them cry sur you know doubtless who it is who addresses you the count of precisely it would have been a misfortune if you had visited m and i had been unable to have a word with you i have had to do with many german soldiers but never with an officer before i have much to talk to you about captain sat still in his chair brave as he was there was something in this man s manner which made his skin creep with apprehension his eyes glanced to right and to left but his weapons were gone and in a struggle he saw tiiat he was but a child to this gigantic the count had picked up the bottle and held it to the light tut said he and was this the best that could do for you i am ashamed to look you in the face captain we must improve upon this he blew a call upon a whistle which hung the lord of his shooting jacket the old was in the room in an instant from bin is i he cried and a minute later a grey bottle with was carried in as a nurse bears an in nt the count filled two glasses to the brim said he it is the very best in my and not to be matched between and paris drink sir and be happy i there are cold joints below th e are two fresh from will you not venture upon a and more supper the german officer shook his head he drained the glass however and his host filled it once more pressing him to give an for this or that dainty there is nothing in my house which is not at your disposal you have but to say the word well then you will allow me to tell you a story while you your wine i have so longed to it to some german officer it is about my son my only child who was taken and died in escaping it is a curious httle story and i think that i can promise you that you mil never i you must know then that my boy was in the a fine young fellow and the pride of his mother she died within a week of the news of his death reaching us it was brought by a brother officer who was at his side throughout and who escaped while my lad died i want to tell you ail that he told me was taken at on the th of august the prisoners broken up into parties and sent back into germany by different the lord of was taken upon the th to a village called where ne met with kindness from the german officer in this good colonel had the hungry lad to supper offered him tiie best he had opened a bottle of good wine as i have tried to do for you and gave him a cigar om his own case mi t i entreat you to take one from mine the german again shook his head his h of his companion had increased as he sat watching the lips that smiled and the eyes that glared the colonel as i say was good to my boy but the prisoners were moved next day across the to they were not equally fortunate there the officer who guarded them was a and a villain captain he took a pleasure in humiliating and the brave men who had fallen into bis power that night upon my s m answering fiercely back to some of his he struck him in tlie eye like this i the crash of the blow rang through the hall the german s ce fell forward his hand up and blood through his fingers the count settled down in his chair once more my boy was by the blow and this villain made his appearance the object of his je is by the way you look a little yourself at the present moment captain and your would certainly say that you had been getting into mischief to continue however my boy s youth and his for his pockets were empty moved the pity of a kind hearted major and him ten from his own pocket the lord of without security of any kind into your hands captain i return these ten gold since i cannot learn the name of the am firom my heart for this kindness shown to boy the vile tyrant who commanded the escort accompanied the prisoners to and from there to he heaped every outrage upon my lad because the spirit of the ch would not stoop to turn away his wrath by feigned submission ay this cowardly villain whose heart s blood shall yet upon this hand dared to	4
strike my son with his open hand to kick him to tear hair from his moustache to use him thus and thus and thus i the german and struggled he was helpless in the hands of this hu giant whose blows upon him w hen at last blinded and half senseless he to his feet it was to be hurled back a am into the great chair he sobbed in his impotent anger and shame my boy was frequently moved to tears by the humiliation of his position continued the count you will me when i say that it is a bitter thing to be helpless in the hands of an insolent and enemy on arriving at however his face which had been wounded by the of his guard was bound up by a young who was touched appearance i r i to see that your eye is bleeding so will you me to it with my handkerchief he leaned forward but the german dashed hia hand aside the lord of i am in your power you he cried i can your but not your the count shrugged his shoulders i am taking things in their order just as they occurred said he i was under vow to tell it to the first german with whom i could talk the let me see i had got as r as the young at i regret extremely that you will not permit me to use such slight stall in as i possess at my lad was shut up in the old where he remained for a t the worst pang of his was that some in the garrison would him with his position as he sat by his window in the evening that reminds me captain that you are not situated upon a bed of roses yourself are you now you came to trap a wolf my man and now the beast has you down with his in your throat a man too i should by that well filled well a widow the more mil make little matter and they do not usually remain long get back into the chair you dog i well to continue my story at the id of a fortnight my son and his escaped i need not trouble you with the dangers which they ran or with the which they endured suffice it that to disguise themselves they had to take the clothes of two whom they in a wood hiding by day and by t they had got as tax into france as and were a mile a single mile captain of crossing the german lines when a of came ng t upon them ah i it was hard was it the lord of not when they had come so r and were so near to safety the count blew a double call upon his whistle and three hard faced entered the room these must represent my said he well then the captain in command finding that these men were french soldiers in dress within the lines proceeded to hang them without trial or ceremony i think that the centre beam is the strongest the unfortunate soldier was dragged from his ch to where a rope had been flung over one of the huge which the room the cord was slipped over his head and he felt its harsh grip round his throat the three seized the other end and looked to the count for his orders the officer pale but firm folded his arms and d at the man who tortured you are now ce to face with death and i perceive from your that you are praying my son was also ce to nice with death and he prayed also it happened that a general officer came up and he the lad for his mother and it moved him so he being himself a father that he ordered his away and he remained with his de camp only beside the condemned men and when he heard the lad had to tell that he was the only child of an old and that his mother was m failing health he threw off the rope as i throw off this and he kissed him on either cheek as i kiss you and he bade him go as i bid you go and may every kind wish of that noble genial though it could not off the fever j t the lord of my descend now upon head and so it was that blinded and bleeding staggered out into the wind and the of that wild december dawn a shadow before the th ot july found john a ruined of the stock exchange upon the th he was a very man and yet he had effected the change without leaving the little irish of which could have been bought outright for a quarter of the sum which he had earned during the day that he was within its walls there is a romance of yet to be written a story of huge forces which toe for ever and of operations of breathless of failure of deep which are baffled by others still more subtle the debts of each great european power stand like so many columns of for ever rising and falling to indicate the pressure upon each he who can see far enough into the future to tell how that column will stand to morrow is the man who has fortune within his grasp john had many of the gifts which lead a to success he was quick in observing just in prompt and fearless in acting but in there is always e element of luck which one may it still remains like the blank at a constantly present upon the and so it was that had come to on the best he had in the funds of a south american republic in the a shadow	4
before days before south american had been found out the republic de and lost his mon he had the of a scotch and a four months strike had hit him hard he had helped to a coffee company in the hope that the public would come along upon the feed and gradually away some of holding but the sky had been clouded and the public had to invest everything which he had touched had gone wrong and now on the eve of his marriage young and energetic he was actually a had his chosen to make hun on but the stock exchange is an indulgent body what is the case of one to day may be that of another tomorrow and every one is interested in seeing that the stricken man is time to rise again so the burden of was listened for him many shoulders helped to bear it and he was able to go for a little summer tour into ireland for the doctors had ordered him rest and change ai ur to restore his shaken nervous system thus it was that upon the th of july he found himself at his break st in the fly blown coffee room of the george hotel in the market square of it is a dull and d coffee room and one which is usually empty but on this particular day it was as crowded and noisy as that of any hotel every table was occupied and a of bacon and of fish hung in the air men in and out spurs riding crops were in corners and there was a general atmosphere of horse the conversation too was of else every side a shadow before heard of of wind of of of of a hundred other terms which were as unintelligible to him as his own stock exchange would have been to the company he asked the for the reason of it all and the waiter was an astonished man that there should be any one in this world who did not know it it s the horse your honour the greatest horse fair in all it lasts for a wake and the folk come from far an near from england an scotland an if you look out of the your honour see the horses and it s your honour s conscience must be or you wouldn t so sound that the didn t rouse you with clatter had a recollection that he had heard a confused murmur which had itself with his dreams a sort of steady and and now when he looked through the window he saw the cause of it the square was packed with horses from end to end young ones and old fine ones and course horses of every conceivable sort and size it seemed a huge function for so small a town and he remarked as much to the waiter well you see honour the horses don t live in the town an they don t vex their heads how small it is but it s in the very centre of the districts of so where should they come to be if it wasn t to the waiter had a in his hand aad he turned the address to i never heard such a name soft maybe you could tell me who owns it a shadow before looked at the envelope was the name no i don t know said he i never heard it before it s a foreign name perhaps if you but at that moment a little round gentleman who was at the next table leaned forward and interrupted him did vou say a foreign name sir said he is the name i am mr mr of liverpool i was expecting a ram thank you very much he sat so near that without any wish to play the spy could not help to some extent looking him as he opened the envelope the message was a very long one quite a of paper came out om the envelope mr arranged the sheets upon the table cloth in front of him so that no eye but his own could see them then he took out a note book and an anxious ce he began to make in it glancing first at the and then at the book and writing apparently one letter or figure at a time was interested for he knew exactly what the man was doing he was working out a had often done it and then suddenly the little man turned veiy pale as if the full purport of the message had been a shock to him had done that also and his sympathies were all with his neighbour then the stranger rose and leaving his breakfast he out of the room i m that the has had bad news said the confidential waiter a shadow before looks like it answered and at that moment his thoughts were suddenly drawn off into another direction the boots had entered the room with a in his hand where s mr said he to the waiter well there are some names about what was it you said mr said the boots glancing round him ah there he is i and he handed the to a gentleman who was sitting reading the paper in a comer s eyes had already fallen upon this man and he had wondered vaguely what he was doing in such company he was a tall white haired with a moustache and a care pointed beard an aristocratic type which seemed out of its element among the hearty noisy who surrounded this them was mr for whom the second was intended as he opened it tearing it open with a feverish haste could perceive that it was as as the one he observed also from the delay in reading it that it was also in some sort of the gentleman did	4
not write down any translation of it out he sat for some time with his nervous thin fingers amongst the hairs of his white beard and his shaggy brows bent in the deepest and most absorbed attention whilst he mastered the meaning of it then he sprang suddenly to his feet his eyes flashed his cheeks flushed and m his excitement he the message up in his hand with an he mastered his a shadow before tion put tiie paper into his pocket and walked out of the room this was to excite a less and imaginative man was there an connection between these two or was it merely a coincidence two men with strange names receive two within a few minutes of each other each of a considerable h each in and each causing keen to the man who received it one turned pale the other sprang excitedly to his feet it might be a coincidence but it was a very curious one if it was not a coincidence then what could it mean were they who pretended to apart but who each received identical orders from some person at a distance that was possible and yet there were difficulties in the way he puzzled and puzzled but could find no solution to the problem all break st he was turning it over in his mind when break st was over he sauntered out into the market square where the horse sale was already in progress the were being sold first tall long legged wild eyed creatures who had run free upon the pastures with ragged hair and but to all and with the of splendid hunters and when com and time had brought them to th were largely of bred blood and were being bought by h who would invest a few pounds now on what they might sell for fifty guineas in a year if all went well it was a legitimate speculation for the horse is a delicate creature he is with many the least accident may destroy his a shadow before value he is a certain expense and an profit and for one who comes safely to maturity several may bring no return at all so the english horse took their risks as they bought up the sha y irish one man with a ruddy ce and a overcoat took them by the with as much as if they had been entering each bargain in a he bought forty or fifty during the time that was watching him who is that he asked his neighbour whose spurs and showed that he was l to the man stared in astonishment at the stranger s ignorance why that s jim the great jim he then by the blank look upon s face that even this tion had not helped him much he went into details sure the head of and of london said he he s the buying partner and he cheap and the other stays at home and and he dear he owns more horses than any man in the world and asks the best money for them i dare say find that half of what are sold at the fair this day will go to him and he s got such a purse that there s not a man who can bid against him watched the doings of the great dealer with interest he had passed on now to the two year and three year grown horses but still a little loose in the limb in the bone the london was choosing his animals carefully but having chosen them the vigour of his competition drove all other a shadow out of it with a careless nod he would run the figure up five pounds at a time until he was left in possession of the field at the same time he was a shrewd observer and when as happened more than once he believed that some one was bidding against him simply in order to run him up the head would cease suddenly to nod the would be closed with a snap and the intruder would be left with a purchase which he did not desire upon his hands all s business instincts were aroused by the of this great operate and he stood in the crowd watching with the utmost interest all that occurred it is not to buy young horses however that the great come to ireland and the real business of the fair commenced when the four and five were reached the full grown perfect horses at their and ready for any work or any fatigue seventy magnificent creatures had been brought down by a single a keen eyed ruddy who stood e the and whispered and into his ear that s of said s jack has brought down that string of horses and the other large string over yonder belongs to tom his brother the two os them together are the two first in ireland a crowd bad gathered in fix nt of the horses by common consent a place had been made for mr and could catch a glimpse of his face and coat in the front rank he had opened his note book and was tapping his teeth with his pencil as he eyed the noises a shadow before see a fight now between the first and the first in the country said s acquaintance they are a beautiful string anyhow i shouldn t be if he didn t average five and thirty pound apiece for the lot as they stand the had mounted upon a chair and his keen clean shaven ce overlooked the crowd mr jack s grey whiskers were at his elbow and mr immediately in front you ve seen these horses gentlemen said the with a backward sweep of his hand toward the line of tossing heads and streaming when you know that they are bred by mr jack at his place in you	4
will have a of their quality they are the best that ireland can produce and in this class of horse the best that ireland can produce are the best in the world as every riding man knows well hunters or carriage horses all sound and bred from the best stock there are seventy in mr jack s string and he bids me say that if any dealer would make one bid for the whole lot to save time he would have the preference over any there was a pause and a whisper from the crowd in front with some expressions of discontent by a single sweep all the small had been put out of it it was only a purse which could buy on such a scale as that the looked round him come mr said he at last you didn t come over here for the sake of the scenery you may travel the country and not see such another of horses give us a starting bid a shadow before the great dealer was still rattling his pencil upon his front teeth well said he at last they a fine lot of horses and i won t deny it they do you credit mr i am sure all the same i didn t mean to fill a ship at a single bid in tl i like to pick and choose my horses in that case mr is quite prepared to them in smaller lots said the it was rather for the convenience of customer that he was prepared to put them all up together but if no gentleman to bid wait a minute said a voice they me very line horses these and i will give you a bid to start you i will give you twenty pounds each for the string of seventy there was a rustle as the crowd all swayed heads to catch a glimpse of the speaker the leaned forward may i ask your name sir mr of liverpool it s a new firm said s neighbour i i knew them all but i never heard of him before the s head had for he was whispering with the now he suddenly straightened himself again thank you for giving us a lead sir said h now gentlemen you have the offer of mr of liverpool it will ve us a base to start from mr has offered twenty pounds a head guineas said mr f i knew that you would take a hand you are not the man to let a shadow before such a string of horses pass away fix in you the bid is twenty guineas a head twenty five pounds said mr twenty six thirty it was london against liverpool and it was the head of the trade an still the one man had increased his bids by and the other only by ones those meant determination and also wealth had ruled the market so long that the crowd was at finding some one who would stand up to him the bid now stands at thirty pounds a head said the the word lies with you mr the london dealer was glancing keenly at his unknown opponent and he was asking himself whether this was a genuine rival or whether it was a device of some sort an agent of s for running up the price little mr the same apple faced gentleman whom had noticed in the room stood looking at the horses with the sharp quick glances of a man who knows what he is looking for thirty one said with the ur of a man who has gone to his extreme limit thirty two said promptly grew angry at this persistent opposition his red face flushed thirty three he shouted thirty tour said became thoughtful and entered a figures in his note book there were seventy horses he knew that s stock was always of the highest quality with the hunting season a shadow before on he might rely upon selling them at an average of from forty five to fifty some of them might carry a heavy weight and would run to three figures on the other there was the feed and keep of them for three months the danger of the voyage the chance of or some of those other complaints which run through an entire stable as go through a nursery all this it was a question whether at the present price any profit would be left upon the transaction that he bid meant seventy out of his pocket and yet he could not submit to be beaten by this stranger without a ie as a business matter it was important to him to be as the head of his profession he would make one more effort if ne sacrificed his profit by doing so at the end of your rope mr asked the with the suspicion of a thirty five cried thirty six said then i wish you joy of your ain said i don t buy at that price but i should be glad to sell you some mr took no notice of the irony he was still looking at the horses the glanced round him in a thirty six pounds bid said he mr jack s lot is going to mr of liverpool at thirty six a head going forty i cried a high thin clear voice a rose from the crowd and they were all on trying to catch a glimpse of this reckless being a tall man see a shadow before over the others and there at the side of he saw the nose and aristocratic beard of the second stranger in the room a sudden personal interest added itself to the scene he felt that he was on the verge of something something dimly seen which he could himself turn to account the two men with strange names the die horses what was it	4
all the was all animation a in and mr jack was sitting up with his white whiskers and his eyes it was uie best deal which he had ever made m his fifty of experience what name sir asked the mr address mr of thank you your ar forty pounds a head has been bid by mr of any advance upon forty forty one said forty five said the had changed and it was the turn of now to advance by ones while his rival sprang up by but tne former was as do ed as ever forty six said he fifty cried it was unheard of the most that the horses could possibly average at a price was as much as these men were willing to pay two fi m whispered the angry if i was i would see l a shadow before the colour of their money before i went the same thought had to the as a mere matter of business said he it is usual in such cases to put down a small deposit as a of you will understand how i am placed and that i have not had the pleasure of doing business with either oi you before how much a ed briefly should we say five hundred here is a note for a thousand pounds and here is another said nothing could be more handsome gentlemen said the it s a treat to see such a spirited competition the last bid was fi pounds a head from the word lies you mr mr jack whispered something to the quite so mr suggests gentlemen that as you are both large it would perhaps be a convenience to you jf he was to add the string of mr tom which consists of of precisely the same making one hundred and forty m all have you any hi mr no sir and you mr i should prefer it very handsome very handsome indeed i murmured the then i mr that offer of fifty pounds a head extends to the whole of these horses l i a shadow before yes sir a long breath went up from the crowd seven thousand pounds at one deal it was a record for any advance mr fifty one fifty five fifty six sixty they could hardly believe ears stood with his mouth open staring in of him the tried hard to look as if such bidding and such prices were nothing unusual jack of smiled and rubbed his hands together the crowd listened in dead one from the be ne had stood without a trace of emotion upon his round hke a little figure bid by his rival was of a more nature his eyes were shining and he was for ever at his beard sixty five he sixty six seventy but the had run down no answering bid came om mr seventy bid sir mr ed his shoulders i am bu g for another and i have reached his limit said he if you will permit me to send for instructions i am afraid sir that the sale must proceed then the horses belong to this gentleman for the first time he turned toward his rival and a shadow before their glances crossed like sword it is that i may see the horses again i hope so said mr and his white moustache gave a upward so with a bow they separated mr walked down to the p office what his message was delayed because mr was already at the end of the wires for after dim and vague conjecture he had suddenly caught a clear view of coming event which had cast so curious a shadow before it in this irish town names appearances ms horses at any ence there could only be one meaning to it he a secret and he meant to use it mr who was the partner of mr and who was suffering from the same had gone down to the stock exchange but had found consolation there for the european system was m a and of peace and of war were succeeding each other with such rapidity and assurance that it was impossible to know which to trust it was obvious that a fortune lay either way for every rumour set the funds but without special information it was impossible to act and no one dared to heavily upon the strength of and the gossip of the street knew that an hour s mi ht the f fortunes of himself and his partner and yet he could not afford to make a mistake he returned to his office in the afternoon half inclined to back the chances of peace for of all war not one in ten comes to pass as he entered the office a lay upon the table it was from a shadow before a place at which he had never heard and was signed by his absent partner the message was in but he soon translated it for it was short and i am a bear of everything and french sell sell sell keep on selling for a moment hesitated what could know at which was not known in street but he remembered the quickness and decision of his partner he not have sent such a message without very good grounds if he was to act at all he must act at once so bis heart he went down to the and dealing upon that curious system by which a man can sell what he has not got and what he could not pay for if he had it he disposed of heavy of french and german he had caught the market in one of its little of hope and there was no lack of buying until his own persistent selling caused others to low his lead and so brought about a reaction when returned to his offices it took him some hours to work out his accounts and	4
he emerged into the streets in the evening with the absolute certain that the next settling day would leave him either hopelessly or y prosperous it all depended upon s what could he possibly have found out at and then suddenly he saw a newspaper boy fasten a upon a lamp post and a uttle crowd had gathered round it m an instant one of them waved his hat in the air another shouted to a across the street hurried up and b a shadow before caught a glimpse of the between two heads france was on germany by jove i cried old right after all l the king of the it was after hunting dinner and there were as many scarlet coats as black ones round the table the conversation over the had turned therefore in the direction of horses and with reminiscences of runs where had led the pack om end to end of a county and hem overtaken at last by two or three hounds and a on foot while every rider in the field had been as the port the runs longer and more until we had the inquiring their way and failing to understand the dialect of the people who answered them the too became more eccentric and we had up which were dragged bv the out of horses and which had through an open door and gone to ground in a s bonnet box the master had told one or two tall reminiscences and when he cleared his throat for another we were all curious for he was a bit of an artist in his way and produced his effects in a his ce wore the earnest practical severely accurate expression which some of his finest efforts it was before i was master said he sir charles had the hounds at that time and then afterward they passed to old and then to me it may possibly have been just after la took them over but my strong impression is that it was in s time that would be early in the about seventy two i should say the king of the the man i mean has moved to another part of the country but i dare say that some of you can remember was the name walter or as the people used to call him he was the son of old joe of high and when his father died he came into a very good thing for his only brother was drowned when the so he inherited the whole estate it was but a few hundred acres but it was good land and those were the days of farming besides it was and a farmer without a was a man before the great in wheat came foreign wheat and wire those are the two curses of this for the one spoils the s work and the other spoils his play this young was a very fine fellow a keen rider and thorough but his head was s little turned at having come when so young into a comfortable fortune and he went the pace for a year or two the lad had no vice in bim but there was a hard drinking set jn the neighbourhood at that time and got drawn in among them and being an ie fellow who liked to do what his friends w doing be very soon took to drinking a great deal more than was good for him as a rule a man who takes his exercise may drink as much as he likes in the evening and do himself no very great harm if he will leave it alone during the day had too many friends for that however and it really looked as if the poor chap was going to the bad when a very thing happened which pulled him up with such a sudden jerk that he l the king of the never put his hand upon the neck of a bottle he a which i have noticed in a good many other men that though he was always playing with his own health he was none the less very anxious about it and was extremely if ever he had any trivial symptom being a tough open air fellow who was always as hard as a nail it was seldom that there was anything amiss him but at last the drink began to tell and he woke one morning with his hands shaking and all his nerves like he had been dining at some very wet house the night before and the wine had perhaps been more plentiful than choice at any rate there he was with a tongue like a bath and a head that like an eight day clock he was very at his own condition and he sent for dr of the father of the man who there now had been a great friend of old s and he was very sorry to see his son going to the devil so he improved the occasion by taking his case very seriously and him upon the danger of his ways he shook his head and talked about the possibility of de ot even of if he continued to lead such a life was horribly do you think i am going to get anything of the sort he well really i don t know said the doctor gravely i cannot undertake to say that you are out of danger your is very much out of order at time during the day you might have those grave symptoms of which i warn you the king of the you think i shall be safe by evening if you drink nothing during the day and have no symptoms before evening i think you may consider yourself safe the doctor d a little would he thought do his patient good so he made the most of the matter symptoms may i expect	4
i asked it generally takes the form of i see floating all about that is mere said the soothingly for he saw that the lad was highly and he did not wish to it i dare say you will have no symptoms of the kind but when they do come they usually take the shape of insects or or curious animals and if i see anything of the kind if you do you will at once send for me so with a of medicine the doctor departed young rose and dressed and about the room feeling very miserable and with a vision of the county asylum ever in liis mind he had the doctor s word for it that if he could get through to evening in safety he would be all right but it is not very to be waiting for symptoms and to keep on glancing at your to see whether it is a or whether it has begun to develop and legs at last he could stand it no longer and an overpowering longing for the air and the green grass came over him why should he stay when the was meeting within half a mile of him if he was going to l the king of the have these which the doctor talked of he would not have them the sooner nor the worse because he was on horseback in the l he was sure too it would ease his aching head and so it came about that in ten minutes he was in his and in ten more he was riding out of his yard with his mare between his knees he was a httle unsteady in his saddle just at first but the further he went the better he felt until by the time he reached the meet his head was almost clear and there was nothing troubling him except those haunting words of the doctor s about the possibility of any time before night ll but soon he forgot that also for as he came up the hounds were off and they drew the gravel and afterward the it was just the morning for a scent no wind to blow it away no to wash it out and just damp enough to make it cling there was a of forty all keen men and good so when they came to the black they knew that there would be some s rt for that s a cover which never draws blank the woods were thicker in those days than now and the were thicker also and that great dark oak grove was with them the only difficulty was to make break for it is as you know a very close country and you must them out into the open before you can hope for a run when they came to the black the field took their positions along the cover side wherever they thought that th were most likely to get a good start some went in with the hounds some clustered at the ends of the drives and some the king of the kept outside in the hope of the breaking in direction young knew the country like the palm of hand so he made for a place where several drives and there he waited he had a feeling that the and the further he galloped the better he should be and so he was to be off his mare too was in the height of and one of the in the county was a splendid light weight rider under ten stone with his saddle and the mare was a powerful creature all quarters and shoulders fit to carry a and so it was no wonder that there was hardly a man in the field who could hope to stay with him there he waited and listened to the shouting of the and the catching a glimpse now and then in the darkness of the wood of a tail or the of a white and tan side amongst the it was a well trained pack and there was not so much as a to tell you that forty hounds were working all round you and then suddenly there came one long yell bom one of them and it was taken up by another and another until within a few seconds the whole pack was giving tongue together and running on a hot scent saw them stream across one of the drives and upon the side and an instant later the three red coats of the hunt servants flashed after them upon the same line he might have made a shorter cut down me of the other drives but he was of heading the fox so he followed the lead of the right through the wood they went in a bee line galloping their brushed by their horses as they stooped under tlie the king of the branches it s ugly goin as you know with the roots all about m the darkness but you can take a risk when you catch an occasional glimpse of the pack running with a breast high scent so in and out they until the began to thin at the edges ana they found themselves in the long bottom where the river runs it is clear going there upon and the hounds were running very strong about two hundred yards ahead keeping parallel with the stream the field who come the wood instead of going through were coming hard over the fields upon the im but with the servants had a clear lead and they never lost it two of the field got on terms with them parson on a big seventeen hand bay which he used to ride in those days and squire who rode as a feather weight and made his hunters out of cast fi om the but the others never had a look in from start to finish for there was	4
no check and no pulling and it was clear cross country racing om start to finish if you had drawn a line right across the map with a you couldn t go than that fox ran for the downs and the sea the hounds ran as surely as if they were running to view and yet fix m the beginning no one ever saw the fox and there was never a to tell them that he had been this however is not so surprising for if you ve been over that line of country you will know that there are not very many people about there were six of them then in the row parson squire the two and who had forgotten all the king of the about his head and the doctor by this time and had not a thought for anything but the all six were just as hard as they could lay to the ground one of the dropped back as some of the hounds were off and that brought them down to five then s strained herself as these will do when the going is rough and he had to take a back seat but the other four were still going strong and they did four or fire miles down the river at a pace it had been a wet winter and the waters had been out a little time before so there was a deal of sliding and but by the time they came to the bridge the whole field was out of sight and these four had the hunt to themselves the fox had crossed the bridge for do not care to swim a chilly river any more than and that point he had away southward as hard as he could tear it is broken country rolling down one slope and up another and it s hard to say whether the up or the down is the more trying for the horses this sort of work is all right for a short backed short legged but it is killing work for a big k ng hunter such as one wants in the anyhow it was too much for parson seventeen hand bay and though he tried the irish for he was a keen of running up the hills by his horse s it was all to no use and he had to give it up so there was only the the and all going ut the country got worse ana worse and the the king of the hills were and more thickly covered in and the horses were over their all the time and the place was with rabbit holes but the were still streaming along and tiie could not afford to pick their steps as they down one slope the hounds were always up the opposite one until it looked like that game where the one figure in falling makes the other one rise but never a glimpse did they get of the fox although they knew very well that he must be only a very short way ahead for the scent to lie so strong and then heard a crash and a at his elbow and looking round he saw a pair of white and top boots kicking out of a of the whip s horse had stumbled and the whip was out of the running and the down for an instant and then seeing the man to his feet all right they turned and s their once more joe the was a old rider known for five round but he reckoned upon his second horse and the second horses had all been left many miles behind however the one he was riding was good enough for anything with such a upon his back and he was going as well as when he started as to he was going better with every stride his own feelings improved and the mind of the rider has its influence upon the mind of the horse the stout little was gathering its muscular limbs under it and stretching to the gallop as if it were steel and instead of flesh and blood had never come to the end of its powers yet l the king of the and to day he had such a chance of than as he had never had e there was a pasture country beyond the slopes and for several miles the two were either losing ground as they with their crop handles at the bars of gates or it again as they galloped over the fields those were the days before this accursed wire came into the country and you could generally break a hedge where you could not fly it so they did not trouble the gates more than they could help then they were down in a hard lane where they had to their pace and through a farm where a man came excitedly after them but they had no time to stop and to him for the hounds were on some only two fields ahead it was sloping upward that and the horses were over their in the red soft soil when they reached the top they were badly but a grand valley before them up to the open country of the south downs between there lay a belt of pine woods into which the hounds were streaming running now in a long line and shedding one here and one there as ran you could see the white and tan here and there where the were away but half the pack were still going well thou the pace and distance had both been tremendous two clear hours now without a check there was a drive through the one of those green slightly drives where a horse can get the last yard out of itself for the ground is hard enough to give him clean going and yet enough to help him got	4
alongside of the and they tom the king of the with their irons touching and the within a hundred yards of them we have it all to ourselves said he yes sir we ve shook off lot of em this time said old joe if we get this fox it s worth while im an stuffed for e s a curiosity e is it s the run i ever had in my life i cried and the that ever i ad an that means more said the old but what me is that we ve never ad a look at the e must leave an scent he ind im when these can follow m like this and yet none of us have seen im when we ve ad a clear mile view in front of us i expect well have a view of him presently and in his mind he added at least i shall for tne s horse was gasping as it ran and the white foam was pouring down it like the side of a washing tub they had followed the bounds on to one of the side tracks which led out of the main drive and that divided into a smaller track still where the branches across their as they went and there was barely room for one horse at a time took the lead and he heard the s horse along heavily behind him while his own mare was going with less spring than when she had started she answered to a touch of his crop or spur however and he felt that there was something still left to draw upon and then he looked up and there was a heavy wooden at the end of the narrow track with a lane of stiff young leading down to it which was th king of the r too thick to break the hounds were running clear upon the on the other de and you were bound either to get over that or k se si t of them for the pace was too hot to let you round well was not the lad to and at it he went full split like a man who means what he is doing she rose gallantly to it it hard with her front shook him on to ner recovered herself and was over had hardly got back into his saddle when there was a clatter behind him like the fall of a and there was the top bar in uie horse on its belly and the on hands and knees half a dozen yards in front of him pulled up for an instant for the fall was a but he saw old joe spring to his feet and get to his horse s the horse staggered up but the moment it put one foot in front of the other saw that it was h lame a slipped shoulder and a six weeks job there was nothing he could do and joe was shout ing to him not to lose the hounds so off he went again the one solitary of the whole hunt when a man finds himself there he can retire from fox hunting for he has tasted which it has to offer i remember once when i was out with the royal but i ll tell you that story afterward the pack or what was left of them had got a bit ahead during this time but he had a clear view of them on the and the mare seemed of pride at being the only one left for she was stepping out rarely and tossing her head as she went there were two miles over the green should of a hill a rattle down a stony deep country the king of the lane where the mare stumbled and nearly came down a jump over a five foot brook a cut a another dose of heavy a couple of gates to open and then the green unbroken downs beyond well said to himself see this fox run into or i shall see it drowned for it s all clear going now between this and the chalk which the sea but he was wrong in that as he speedily discovered in all the little hollows of the downs at that part there are of fir woods some of which have grown to a good size you do not see them until you come upon the edge of the in which they lie was galloping over the short when ne came over the lip of one of these and there was the dark of wood lying in of and beneath him there were only a dozen hounds still running and they were just disappearing among the trees the sunlight was shining straight upon the long olive green slopes which curved down toward this wood and who had the eyes of a hawk swept them over this great expanse but there was nothing moving upon it a few sheep were up on uie right but there was no other sight of any living creature he was then that he was very near to the end either the fox must have gone to ground in the wood or the hounds noses must be at his very brush the mare seemed to know also what that great empty sweep of meant for she her stride and a few minutes afterward was galloping into the fir wood he had come from bright sunshine but the wood was very closely and so dim that he g the king of the could hardly see to right or to left out of the tow path down which he was you j what a solemn sort of p ce a fir wood i is i suppose it is the absence of any and the that the trees never move at at i any rate a kind of chill suddenly struck and it flashed through	4
mind that there had been some very singular points about this run i its length and its and the fact that from the first find no one ever caught a glimpse of the creature some silly talk which had i going round the country about the king of the a sort of demon fox so that it could an pack and so fierce that could do i nothing with it if they overtook it came j back into his mind and it did not seem so now in the dim fir wood as it had done when the story had been told over the wine and the which had been on him in the morning and which he had hoped that he had shaken off swept over him again in an overpowering wave he had been so proud of being alone and yet he would have ten pounds now to have had joe s homely ce beside him and then just at that moment there broke out from the part of the wood the most that ever he had heard in his li the hounds had run into their fox well u know or you ought to know what your duty is in such a case you have to be whip and everything else if you are the man up you get in among the hounds lash them off and keep tbe brush and from being destroyed of course knew all about tha and he tried to force his mare the the king of the to the place where all this hideous and howling came om but the wood was so thi that it was impossible to ride it he sprang off therefore left the mare standing and broke his way through as best he could with his hunting lash ready over his shoulder but as he ran forward he felt his flesh go cold and all over he had heard hounds run into many times before but he had never heard such sounds as these they were not the cries of triumph but of fear every now and then came a shrill of mortal holding his breath he ran on until he broke the branches and found himself in a little clearing with the hounds all crowding round a patch of tangled at the further end when he first caught sight of them the hounds were standing in a round this with their backs and their jaws in front of the lay one of than with his throat torn out all crimson and white came running out into the clearing and at the sight of him the hounds took heart again and one of them sprang with a growl into the bushes at the same instant a creature the size of a donkey jumped on to its feet a huge grey head with monstrous glistening and fox jaws shot out om among the branches and the hound was thrown several feet into the air and fell howling among the cover then there was a snap uke a rat trap closing and the sharpened into a scream and then were still had been on the look out for symptoms all day and now he had found them he looked more at the thicket saw a of the king of the age red eyes fixed upon him and took to his heels it might be a passing delusion m it might be the permanent of which the doctor had spoken but anyhow the thing to do was to get back to bed and to quiet and to hope for tiie best he forgot the hounds the hunt and every thing else in his desperate fears for his own reason he sprang upon his mare galloped her madly over the downs and only stopped when he found himself at a country station there he left his mare at the inn and made back for home as quickly as steam would take him it was evening he got there shivering with apprehension and seeing those red eyes and teeth at every turn he went straight to bed and sent for dr i ve got em doctor said he it came about exactly as you said strange creatures and everything all i ask you now is to save my reason the doctor listened to his story and was shocked as he heard it it appears to be a very clear case said he this must be a lesson to you for life never a drop again if i only come safely through this well my dear boy if you will stick to that it may prove a blessing in disguise but the difficulty m this case is to know where ct ends and fancy begins you see it is not as if there was only one delusion there have been several the dead dogs for example must have one as well as the creature in the bush i saw it all as clearly as i see you one of the of this form of delirium is that what you see is even than the king of the reality i was wondering the whole run was not a delusion also pointed to his hunting boots still lying upon the floor with the of two hum that looks very real certainly no doubt in your weak state you over exerted self and so brought this attack upon yourself well whatever the cause our treatment is clear you wiu take the soothing mixture which i will send to you and we shall put two upon your temples to night to relieve any of the brain so spent the night in tossing about and reflecting what a sensitive thing this machinery of ours is and how very foolish it is to play tricks with what is so easily put out of gear and so to mend and so lie repeated and repeated his oath that this first lesson should be his last and	4
scott was quick happy go lucky and brilliant was the more solid scott the more attractive was the deeper scott the three the brighter by a curious coincidence though each had seen much of war re their had never together they covered all recent history scott had done the the egypt had seen the war the the and the relief the indian frontier rebellion and this intimate personal knowledge gave a peculiar to their talk there was none of the second hand and conjecture which form so much of our conversation it was all final the speaker had been there had seen it and there was an end of it in spite of friendship there was the keenest professional between the two men would have sacrificed himself to help his companion but either would also have sacrifice his companion to help his paper never did a for a winning mount as keenly as each of them longed to have a fuu column in a morning edition whilst every other daily was blank they were perfectly frank about the matter each professed ready to steal a march on his neighbour and each recognised that the other s duty to his far er than any personal consideration the third man was of the young inexperienced and rather simple looking he had a of the lip which some of his more intimate friends regarded as a upon his character and his eyes were so slow and so sleepy that they suggested an affectation a leaning toward had sent him twice to autumn and a touch of colour in his descriptions had induced the of the to give him a l the three trial as a war special there was a pleasing about his bearing which l him to his experienced companions and if they had a smile sometimes at his ways it was soothing to them to have a comrade from whom nothing was to be feared from the d that they left the wire behind them at the man who was mounted upon a fifteen guinea thirteen was delivered over into the hands of the owners of the two that ever shot down the ground the three had dismounted and led their beasts under the welcome shade in the yellow glare every branch above threw so black and solid a shadow that the men involuntarily raised th feet to step over them the palm makes an excellent hat rack said scott his revolver and his water bottle over the little upward pointing which from the trunk as a shade tree however it isn t an success curious that in the universe of means to ends something a little less could not have been devised for uie like the in india or the fine trees in where a whole regiment could under the shade the te tree isn t bad in either by jove the has all come loose in the that long cut mixture rather hot for this how about the they ll be here in five minutes down the winding path which curved among the rocks the little train of baggage was picking its way they came and th three along turning their heads slowly from side to side with the air of a self conscious woman in front rode the three body servants upon and behind walked the they had been travelling for nine long hours ever since the first rising of the moon at the weary drag of two and a half miles an hour but now they brightened both beasts and men at the sight of the grove and the horses in a few minutes the loads were the animals a fire lighted fresh water carried up from the river and each provided with his own little heap of laid in the centre of the without which no well bred will condescend to feed the dazzling light without the subdued half tones within the palm against the deep blue sky the flitting silent footed servants the of sticks the of a lighting fire the placid heads of the they all come back m their dreams to those who have known them scott was breaking into a pan and rolling out a love song in his deep voice with his head and arms buried in a deal was working his way through of bully chicken and to reach the which lay beneath the conscientious with his upon his knee was down what the railway engineer had told him at the line end the day before suddenly he raised his eyes and saw the man on his chestnut pony dipping and rising over the broken ground i here s i a pretty his pony is in he s had ha l the three t that hand gallop for hours by the look of her the a small compact man with a pointed red beard had made as though he would ride past their camp without word or halt now he and his pony down to a he headed her toward them for god s sake a drink i he my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth ran with the water bottle scott with the and with the tin the engineer drank until his breath failed well i must be said he striking the drops from his red moustache any news a in the construction i must see the general it s the devil not having a telegraph anything we can report out came three tell you after i ve seen the general any the usual up i with a soft upon the sand and a clatter among the stones the weary pony was off upon her journey once more nothing serious i suppose said staring after him serious cried scott the ham and eggs are burned i no it s all right saved and done to a turn i full the box up come on that the fork is than the pen just	4
at present what s the matter with you i was whether what we hare just seen was worth a well it s for the to say if it s worth it sordid money considerations are not for us we must wire about something just to justify our coats and our but what is there to say s long austere ce broke into a smile over the s innocence it s not c usual in our profession to give each other tips said he however as my ram is written i ve no objection to your reading it you may be sure that i would not show it to you if it were of the slightest importance took up the slip of paper and read obstacles stop journey general stop nature difficulties stop this is very said with wrinkled brows i cried scott why it s if my old man got a wire like that his would crack the lamp shades i d cut out this for example i d have out journey and nature and but my old man would make a ten line paragraph of it for all that how weu i ll do it myself just to show you laid me that he for s minute in his it works out somewhat on these lines mr charles h the railway who is at present engaged in tiie construction of the from to the front has met with considerable ob l the three to the rapid completion of his important task of course the old man knows who is and what he is about so the word obstacles would suggest all that to him he has to day been compelled to make a journey of forty miles to the in order to confer with the general upon the steps which are necessary in order to the further of the exact nature of the difficulties met with will be made public at a later date all is quiet upon the line of communications though the usual persistent of the presence of in the desert to our own how s that cried scott triumphantly and his white teeth gleamed suddenly through his black beard that s the sort of for the dear old public will it interest them oh everything interests they want to know all about it and th like to think that there is a man who is getting a hundred a month simply in order to tell it to them it s very kind of you to teach me all this well it is a little for after all we are here to score over each other if we can there axe no more eggs and you must take it out in jam of course as says such a as this is of no importance one way or another except to prove to the office that we are in the and not at but when it comes to serious work it must be every man for himself is that quite necessary why of course it is jt the three i should have if three men were to combine and to share their news they would do better than if they were each to act for f and they would have a much pleasanter time of it the two older men sat with their bread and jam in hands and an expression of genuine disgust upon their we are not here to have a pleasant time said with a flash through passes we are here to do our best for our papers how can they score over each other if we do not do the same if we all combine we might as well with at once why it would take away the whole glory of the profession cried scott at present the man gets his stuff first on the wires what is there to be smart if we all share and share alike and at present the man with the best has the best chance remarked glancing across at the shot silk and the cheap little grey that is the fair of foresight and enterprise every man for and let the best man win that s the way to find who the best man is look at he would never have got his chance if he had not played always off his own bat you ve heard how he pretended to break his leg sent his fellow correspondent off for the doctor and so got a ir start for the telegraph office do you mean to say that was legitimate everything is legitimate it s your wits against my wits i call it the three you may call it what you like s paper got the battle and uie others didn t it made s name or take said the tobacco into his pipe hi you may have the dishes brought his stuff down by pretending to be the government and using the of horses s paper sold half a million is that legitimate also asked thoughtfully why not it looks a little like horse stealing and i think i should do a little horse stealing and ing if i could have a column to myself in a london daily what do you say scott anything short of and i m not sure that i d trust you there well i don t think i should be guilty of man ter that i regard as a distinct reach of professional etiquette but if any comes between a highly charged correspondent and an electric wire he does it at his peril my dear i tell you frankly that if you are going to yourself with scruples you may just as well be m fleet street as in the our life is irregular our work has never been no doubt it will be some d but the time is not yet do what you can and how you can and be first on the wires that	4
did you never hear d g the three lets now put the here not much y ou don t get my pony to make a i with the between the grove and the river out of danger s way these fellows seem to fire even higher than they did in that s got home anyhow said scott as heard a soft like a stone in a bank who s hit then the brown that s the as he spoke the creature its jaw still working laid its long neck along the ground and closed its dark eyes that shot cost me fifteen pounds how many of them do you make four i think only four at any rate there may be i not it is a little party of by the way youve never been under fire before you never said the young who was conscious of a curious ling of nervous love and poverty and war they are all experiences necessary to make a complete life pass over those this is a very mild that you are for behind these you are as safe as if you were sitting in the back room of the authors club as safe but hardly as comfortable said scott a long glass of and would be exceedingly acceptable but oh what a t of the general s feelings when he hears that the first action of the war has been t by the the three press column who has been at the for a week i think of the evening just too late for the i by that brushed a off me and one of the is hit this is it end in our having to carry our own to never mind my boy it all goes to make copy i can see the on communications murder of british engineer press column attacked won t it be i wonder what the next line will be said our special wounded i cried scott rolling over on to his back no harm done he added gathering himself up again only a off my knee this is i confess that the idea of that back room at the authors club begins to grow upon me i have some afterward will do we re having a day with on the rush i wish he rush they re coming nearer this is an revolver of mine if it didn t throw so devilish i always aim at a man s toes if i want to his o lord there s our kettle gone i with a boom a dinner a bullet had passed through the kettle and a cloud of steam up from the fire a wild shout came from the rocks above the think that they have blown us up the r ll rush us now as sure as te then it will be our turn to lead got your revolver the three i have this double sensible man it s the best weapon in the world at this s of and tumble work what swan shot that will do all i this big bore double pistol loaded with you as well try to stop one of these with a as with a service revolver there are ways and means said scott the does not hold south of the first it s easy to make a bullet by a little of the ti of it when i was in the broken square at wait a bit cried his glasses i think they are coming now the time said scott up his watch being exactly seventeen minutes past four had been lying behind a staring with an interest which bordered upon fascination at the rocks opposite here was a little of smoke and there was another one but never had they caught a glimpse of the to him there was weird and in these unseen persistent men who minute by minute were drawing closer to them he had heard than cry out when the kettle was and once immediately afterward an strong voice had roared something which had set scott his shoulders they ve got to take us first said he and thought his nerve might be better if he did not ask for a translation the firing had begun at a distance of some hundred yards which put it out of the question for l the three them with their lighter weapons to make any reply to it had continued to keep that range the must either have made a hopeless sally or tried to shelter themselves behind their as best they might on the chance that the sound might bring up but luckily for them the african bad never taken kindly to the rifle and his primitive instinct to close with his enemy is always too strong for his sense of they were drawing in therefore and now for the time t sight of a face looking at them from over a rock it was a huge strong head of a pure n ro with silver gleaming in the ears the man raised a great arm from behind the rock and shook his at them shall i fire asked no no it is too far your shot would scatter all over the place it s a picturesque said scott couldn t you him there s another i a fine brown with a black pointed beard was peeping from behind another he wore the green which proclaimed him and his showed the keen nervous exaltation of the religious they seem a crowd s d scott that last is one of the real fighting remarked he s a dangerous man he looks pretty vicious there s another negro i two more i by the look of them just the same we get our own black from as long as they a t they don t mind who it s for but if the mid only sense d g the three enough to understand they would	4
these dead ridden i in an instant he was up the rocks with protesting at his heels had the two carried away all the or had they b content to save themselves the brass gleam from a litter of empty cases caught his eye and showed where the had been crouching and then he could have shouted for joy for there in the hollow some uttle distance off rose the high graceful white neck and the elegant head of such a as he had never set the three eyes upon before a swan like creature as r m m the clumsy as the is from the the beast was kneeling under the of the rocks with its and bag of over its shoulders and its fashion with a rope round the knees threw his over the front while slipped off the cord forward flew an l toward the creature s neck then violently backward madly at anything which might save him and then with a jerk which nearly snapped his he was thrown forward again but the was on its legs now and the young was safely seated upon one of the of the desert it was as gentle as it was swift and it stood its long neck and gazing round with its large brown eyes whilst his legs round the and grasped the curved which had handed up to him there were two bridle one from the and one from the neck but he remembered that scott had said that it was the servant s and not the house which had to be pulled so he kept his u n the lower then he touched the neck with his stick and in an instant s seemed to come from far behind him and the black rocks and yellow sand were dancing past on either side it was his first experience of a trotting and at first the motion and abrupt was not unpleasant having no or fixed point of any kind he could not rise to it but he as ti as he could with his knee and he to sway backward and forward as he l the three had seen the do it was a lai very saddle and he was conscious that swinging stealthy trot its like feet making no sound upon the hard sand leaned back with his two hands hard him and he the creature on the sun had already sunk behind the line of black peaks which look like huge at the mouth of a mine the western sky taken that lovely u t and pale pink tint which makes evening upon the and the old brown river itself down amongst the black rocks caught some of the colours above the glare the heat and the of the insects had all ceased together in spite of his aching head could have cried out for sure joy as the swift creature beneath him along through that cool air with uie north wind soothing his ce he had looked at his watch and now he made a swift calculation of times and distances it was past six when he had left the camp over broken ground it was impossible that he could hope to do more than seven an hour less on bad parts more on the smooth his recollection of the track was that there were few smooth and many bad he would be lucky then if he reached anywhere from twelve to one then the messages took a good two hours to go through for they had had to be at at the b he l the three only hope to have told his story in fleet street at two or three in the morning it was possible that he might manage it but chances seemed against about three the morning edition would be made up and his gone for ever the one thing clear was that only the first man at the wires would have any chance at all and meant to be first if hard riding could do it so he tapped away at the bird like neck and the creature s long loose limbs wait faster and at every tap where the rocky spurs ran down to the river would have to go round while might get across so that felt that he was always upon his companions but there was a price to be paid for the feeling he had heard of men who had burst when on journeys and he knew that the their bodies tightly in broad cloth when they prepare for a long march it had seemed unnecessary and ridiculous when he first b an to speed over the level track but now when lie got on the rocky paths he understood what it meant never for an instant was he at the same angle backward forward he swung with a jar at the end of each sway until he ached firom his neck to his knee it caught him across the shoulders it caught him down the it him over the it marked the lower line of his ribs with one heavy dull throb he clutched here and there with his hand to try and ease the upon his muscles he drew up his knees altered his seat and set his teeth with a grim determination to go through with it should it kill him his head was his face and every the three joint in his body aching as if it were but he forgot all that mien with the rising of the moon be heard the of horses ho down upon the track by the river and knew that unseen by them he had already got well abreast of his companions but he was and the time already eleven all day me needles had been away without in the little iron hut which served as a telegraph station at with its bare walls and its packing case seats it was none	4
a between his fingers looking at the i heard that you had come sorry the chief isn t here to see you gone up to the frontier yon know my regiment is at hid i suppose sir that i report myself there at once no i was to give you your orders he led the way to a map upon the wail and pointed with the end of his c you see this place it s the of a little quiet i am afraid but ent air you are to get out there as quick as possible you ll find a company of the ninth and half a of cavalry you will be in command looked at the name printed at the of two black lines without another dot upon the map for several inches around it a village ar no a not very good water i m but you soon get accustomed to it s an important post as being at the of two all are closed now of course but still you never know who come them we are there i presume to prevent well between you and me there s really nothing to you are there to messengers they must call at the wells of course you have only just come out but you probably understand enough about the of this country to know that there is a great deal of the d but of about and that the is likely to try and keep in touch with his then again lives up that way he waved his to the westward the might send a message to him along that route anyhow your duty is to arrest ever one coming along and get some account of mm before you let bim you don t talk i suppose i am learning sir well well you ll have time enough for study there and you ll have a native officer something or other who speaks english and can interpret for you well good i ll tell the chief that you reported yourself g t on to your post now as quickly as you can to the post boat to and then two days on a in the desert with an guide and three to tie one down to their own pace however even two and a half miles an horn mount up in time and at last on the third evening from the blackened heap of a hill which is called the looked down upon a distant of palms and thought that this cool patch of green in the midst of the merciless and was the colour effect that he had ever seen an hour later he had ridden into the little camp the guard had turned out to salute him his native subordinate had greeted him in excellent english and he had entered into his own it was not an place for a residence there was one large shaped grassy depression sloping down to the three of brown and water there was the grove of palm the d of trees also to look upon ut in view the feet that nature has provided her least shady trees on the very spot where shade is needed most a single did to restore the balance here jo in the heat and in the cool he his square shouldered with their cherry black races and their little pork pie caps was a at and the loved being so the was soon popular among them but one day was exactly like another the weather the view the employment the food everything was the same at the end of three weeks he felt that he had been there for interminable years and then at last there came something to break the monotony one evening as the sun was sinking slowly down the old road it had a fascination for him this narrow track winding among the and up the for how in the map it had gone on and on stretching away into the unknown heart of africa the countless of innumerable through many centuries had beaten it smooth so that now unused and deserted it still wound away the strangest of roads a foot broad and perhaps two thousand miles in length wondered as he rode how long it was since any traveller had up it from the south and then he raised his eyes and there was a man coming along for an instant thou t that it might be one of his own men but a second glance assured him that this could not be so the stranger was the d but of dressed in the flowing robes of an and not in the close fitting of a soldier he was very tall and a high made him seem gigantic he strode swiftly along with head erect and the bearing of a man who knows no fear who could he be this formidable giant coming out of the the possibly of a of savage and where could he have walked from the nearest well was a long hundred miles down the track at any rate the frontier post of could not afford to receive casual visitors round his horse galloped into camp and gave the alarm then with twenty at ms back he rode out again to the man was still coming on in spite of these hostile preparations for an instant he had hesitated when first he saw the cavalry but escape was out of the question and he advanced with the air of one who makes the best of a bad job he made no resistance and said nothing when the hands of two clutched at his shoulders but walked quietly between their horses into camp shortly afterward the came in again there were no signs of any the man was alone a splendid trotting had been lying dead a little way down the track the n t y of the stranger s arrival	4
was explained but why and whence and whither these were questions for which a zealous officer must find an answer was disappointed that there were no it would have been a great start for him in the egyptian army had he fought a little action on his own account but even as it was he had a rare chance of the author d g the of he would love to show his capacity to the head of the intelligence and even more to that grim chief who never forgot what was smart or forgave what was slack tne prisoner s dress and bearing showed that he was of importance mean men do not ride pure bred trotting his head with cold water drank a cup of strong put on an imposing official instead of his sun and formed himself into a court of inquiry and judgment under the tree he would have liked his people to have seen him now with his two black in waiting and his egyptian native officer at his side he sat behind a camp table and the prisoner strongly guarded was led up to him the man was a handsome fellow with bold grey eyes and a long black beard cried the rascal is making at me a curious had passed over the man s features but so swiftly that it might have been a nervous he was now a of oriental gravity ask him who he is and what he wants the native officer did so but the stranger made no reply save that the same sharp passed once more over his face well i m blessed i cried of all the impudent i he ke on at me who are you you rascal give an of yourself i d ye hear but the tall was as to english as to the egyptian again and again the prisoner looked at with eyes and occasionally his face at him but the d but of never opened his mouth the scratched his head in bewilderment look here we ve got to get some sense out of this fellow you say there are no papers on him no sir we found no papers no clue of any kind he has come sir a trotting does not die easily he has come firom at least well we must get him to talk it is possible that he is deaf and dumb not ne i never saw a man look more all there in my life you might send him across to and give some one else the credit no thank you this is my bird but how are we going to get him to find his tongue the egyptian s dark eyes skirted the and rested on the cook s fire perhaps said he if the thou t fit he looked at the prisoner and then at the burning wood no no it wouldn t do no by jove that s going too fir a very httle might do it no no it s all very well here it would sound just awful if ever it got as fer as fleet street but i say he whispered we might frighten him a bit there s no harm in that no sir tell them to undo the man s order them to put a in the fire and make it the prisoner watched the proceedings with an the of bim air which had more of amusement than of he never as the black reached with the glowing shoe held upon two will you speak now asked the tne prisoner smiled gently and his beard oh the infernal thing away i cried jumping up in a passion there s no use trying to the fellow he knows we wont do it but can and i him and you tell him from me that if he hasn t found his tongue by to morrow morning i ll take the skin off his back as sure as my name s have you said all that yes sir well you can sleep upon it you beauty and a good night s rest may it give you i he the court and the as as ever was led away by the guard to his supper of rice and water was a kind hearted man and his own sleep was considerably disturbed by the prospect of the punishment which he must next day he had hopes that the mere sight of the and the might prevail over his prisoner s obstinacy and then ag he thought now shocking it would be if the man proved to be really dumb after all him so that he had almost determined by daybreak that he would send the stranger on to and yet what a tame conclusion it would be to the incident i he lay upon his still it when the question suddenly and settled all rushed into his tent the of sir he cried the prisoner is gone i yes sir and your own best riding as well there is a cut in the and he got away unseen in the early morning acted with all energy rode along every track examined the soft sand of the for of the fugitive but no trace was discovered the man had utterly disappeared with a heavy heart wrote an official report of the matter and forwarded it to five days later there came a order from the chief that he should report himself there he feared the worst from the stern soldier who spared others as little as he spared and his worst were and weary he reported himself one night at the general s quarters behind a table piled with papers and strewn with maps the famous soldier and his chief of intelligence were deep in plans and figures their greeting was a cold one i understand captain the general that you have allowed a very important to slip through your fingers i am sorry sir	4
no doubt but that will not mend matters did you ascertain anything about him before you lost him no sir how was that could get nothing out ot him sir did you try yes sir i did what i could what d you do well sir i threatened to use physical force the d but of what did he say he said nothing what was he a tall man sir rather a desperate character i should think any way by which we could identify him a long black beard sir grey eyes and a nervous way of his face well captain said the general in his stem voice i cannot congratulate you upon first in the egyptian you are aware that every english officer in force is a picked man have the whole british army from which to draw it is necessary therefore that i should insist upon the very highest it would be upon the others to pass over any obvious want of zeal or intelligence you are from the royal i understand yes sir i have no doubt that your colonel will be glad to see you your duties again s heart was too heavy fi r words he was silent i will let you know my final decision to morrow morning saluted and turned upon his heel you can sleep upon that you beauty and a good night s rest may it give turned in bewilderment where had words been used before who was it who had used the was standing erect both he and the chief of the intelligence were laughing the d but of stared at the tall figure the erect bearing the inscrutable grey eyes lord i he gasped well well we are i said the general holding out his hand you save me a bad ten minutes with that infernal of yours i ve done as much for you i don t think we can spare you for the royal just yet awhile but sir but the fewer questions the better but of course it must seem rather amazing i had a little private business with the it must be done in person i did it and came to your post in my return i kept on at you as a sign that i wanted a word with you alone yes yes i be in to understand i couldn t give it away before all those or where should i have been the next time i used my beard and dress you put me in a very awkward position but at last i a word alone with your egyptian officer who managed my escape all he i i ordered him to say nothing i had a score to settle with you but we dine at ei ht captain we live plainly here but i i can do you a little better than you d me at a foreign office romance are many folk who knew in his old age from about the time of the revolution of until he died in the second year of the war he was always to be found in the same comer of the de at the end of the st honors coming down about nine in the evening and going when he could find no one to talk with it took some self t to listen to the old for his stories were beyond all and yet he was quick at the shadow of a smile or the httle of the eyebrows then his huge rounded back would itself his bull dog chin would project and liis r s would like a kettle drum when he got as r as ah r r r or ne me cr r r pas done i it was quite time to remember that you liad a ticket for the opera there was his story of and the five shells and there was his utterly absurd account of napoleon s second visit to then there was that most romance which he never ventured upon until his second bottle had been of the emperor s escape fi sm st how he lived for a whole year in philadelphia while count de who was his image him at but of all his stones there was none was more notorious than that of the and the foreign office messenger and yet when a foreign office romance s were written it was found that there really was some for old s incredible statement you must know he would say that i left after s i would gladly have stayed on for i was engaged id a translation of the and between ourselves i had thoughts at the time of embracing for i was deeply struck by the wisdom of their views about they had made an incredible mistake however upon the subject of wine and this was what the who attempted to convert me could never get over then when old died and came to the top i felt that it was time for me to go it is not for me to speak of my own but you will readily understand that the man does not care to be ridden by the mule i carried my and my papers to london where had beat salt by the first to arrange a treaty of peace for both nations were very weary of the war which had already lasted ten years here i was most to on account of my knowledge of the english tongue and also if i may say so on account of my natural capacity they were happy days during which i in the square of the climate of s country is it must be confessed detestable but then what would you have flowers w best in the rain one has but to point to s fellow to prove it well our was kept terribly over that treaty and all of his were worked to death we had not to	4
deal with which was perhaps as well for us he a foreign office romance was a terrible man that and wherever half a dozen enemies of france were together there was his sharp pointed nose right in the middle of them the nation however had been thou t enough to put him out of office and we had to do with but was the foreign minister and it was with him that we woe obliged to do our you can understand that it was no child s play after ten years of war each nation had got hold oi a great deal which had belonged to the other or to the other s what was to be ven back and what was to be kept is this island worth that if we do tim at will do that at if we give up egypt to the will you restore the cape of good hope which you have taken from our the dutch so we and and i have seen come back to the so exhausted that his secretary and i had to him from his carriage to his but at last adjusted themselves and the night came round when the treaty was to be finally signed now you must know that the one great card which we and which we played played played at every point of the game was that we had the english were very nervous about our being it gave us a foot on each end of the su see and they were not sure that that little napoleon of ours might not make it the base of an advance against india so whenever lord proposed to retain anything we had only to reply in that case of course we cannot consent to egypt and in this way we a foreign office romance quickly brought him to reason it was by the help of egypt that we gained which were remarkably favourable and especially that we caused the english to consent to give up the cape of hope we did not wish your people to have any in south for history has taught us that the british of one half century is the british empire of the next it is not your army or your navy against which we have to guard but it is your terrible younger son and your man in search of a career when we french have a possession across the seas we like to sit in paris and to ourselves upon it with you it is you take your wives and your children and you run away to see what kind of place this may be and after that we might as well try to take that old square of away from you well it was upon the first of october that the treaty was finally to be signed in the morning i was upon the happy conclusion of his labours he was a little pale of a man very quick and nervous and he was so delighted now at his own success that he could not sit still but ran about the room chattering and laughing while i sat on a cushion in the corner as i bad learned to do in the east suddenly in came a messenger with a letter which had been forwarded from paris cast his eyes upon it and then without a word his knees gave way and he fell senseless upon the floor i ran to him as did the and between us we carried him to the sofa he might have been dead from his appearance but i could still feel his heart thrilling my palm l a foreign office romance what is this then i asked i do not know answered the messenger told me to hurry as never man hurried before and to put this letter into the hands of was in paris at midday yesterday i know that i am to blame but i could not help at the letter picking it out of the hand of my god i the that it was i i did not int but i sat down beside my chief and i burst into tears it was but a few words but they told us that egypt had been by our troops a month before all our treaty was undone then and the one had induced our enemies to give us good terms had vanished la twelve hours it not have mattered but now the treaty was not yet signed we should have to give up the cape we should have to let england now that egypt was gone we nothing to offer in exchange but we are not so easily beaten we you english us when you think that because we show emotions which you conceal that we are therefore of a weak and womanly nature you cannot read your histories and that recovered his senses presently and we took counsel what we should do it is useless to go on said he this englishman will laugh at me when i ask him to sign i i cried and then a sudden thought coming into my head how do we know that the english will have news of this perhaps they may sign the treaty before they know of it l a foreign office romance sprang from the so and flung himself into my arms he cried you have saved me i why should they know about it our news has come from to and thence straight to london theirs will come by sea through the straits of at this moment it is unlikely that any one in paris of it save only and the first if we keep our secret we may stiu get our treaty signed ah you can imagine the horrible uncertainty in which we spent ie day never never i foi t those slow hours during which we sat together starting at every distant shout lest it should oe	4
the first sign of the which this news would cause in london passed from youth to age in a day as for me i find it easier to go out and meet danger than to wait for it i set forth therefore toward evening i wandered here and wandered there i was in the rooms of and in the de of and in the club of and in the of tjie chamber of but nowhere did i hear any news still it was possible that had it himself just as we had he lived in street and there it was that the treaty was to be finally signed that night at eight i entreated to drink two glasses of before he went for i feared lest his haggard face and trembling hands should rouse suspicion in the english minister well we went round together in one of the s carriages about half past seven went in alone but presently an a foreign office romance of getting his he came out again his cheeks flushed with joy to tell me that all was well he knows nothing he whispered ah if the next half hour were over i give me a sign when it is settled said i for what reason because until then no messenger shall interrupt you i give you my promise i he clasped my hand in both of his i shall make an excuse to move one of the candles on to the table in the window said he and hurried into the house whilst i was left waiting beside the carriage well if we could but secure ourselves from int for a single half hour the day would be our own i had hardly begun to form my plans when i saw the lights of a coming from the direction of oxford street ah if it should be the messenger what could i do i was prepared to kill him yes even to kill him rather than at this last moment allow our work to be undone thousands die to make a glorious war why should not one die to make a glorious peace what though they hurried me to the i should have sacrificed myself for my country i had a little curved knife to my waist my hand was on the of it when the carriage which had alarmed me so rattled safely past me but another might come i must be prepared above all i must not compromise the i ordered our carriage to move on and i engaged what you a coach then i spoke to a foreign office romance the driver and gave him a guinea he understood that it was a special service you shall have another guinea if you do what you are told said i au right master said he turning his slow eyes upon me without a trace of excitement ot curiosity if i enter your coach with another gentleman you will drive up and down street and take no orders m any one but me i i get out you will carry tne gentleman to s club in street au right master said he again so i stood outside s and you can think how often my eyes went up to that window in the hope of seeing the twinkle in it five minutes passed and another five oh how slowly they crept along it was a true october night raw and cold with a white fog over we wet shining ana the dim oil lamps i could not see fifty paces in either direction but my ears were strain straining to catch the rattle of or the of wheels it is not a cheering place that street of even upon a sunny day the houses are and very respectable over yonder but there is nothing of the feminine about them it is a city to be inhabited by but on that raw night amid the damp and the fog with the anxiety at my heart it seemed the spot in the whole wide world i paced up and down my hands to keep them warm and still my and then suddenly out of the dull hum of the traffic down in oxford street i heard a sound itself and a office romance grow louder and louder and and clearer with every instant two yellow lights came through the fog and a light whirled up to the door of the foreign minister it had not stopped before a young sprang out of it and to the steps the driver turned his horse and rattled off into the fog once more ah it is in the moment of action that i am best you who only see me when i am drinking my wine in the de cannot the heights to which i me at that moment when i knew that the fruits of a ten years war were at stake i was magnificent it was the last french campaign and i the general and army in one sir i touching him upon the arm are you the messenger for lord yes said he i have been waiting for you half an hour said i you are to follow me at once he is with the french i spoke with such assurance that he never hesitated for an instant he entered the coach and i followed him in my heart gave such a thrill of joy that i keep om shouting aloud he was a poor little creature this office messenger not much bi er than and i can see my hands now and imagine what they were like when i was and twenty years of age now that i had him in my coach the question was what i should do with i did not wish to hurt him if i could help it this business said he i despatch which i must deliver instantly a foreign office romance our coach had rattled	4
u preface to the author s edition saying that after studying all the evidence which was available i was still unable to determine whether i was dealing with a great hero or with a great scoundrel of the only could i be a tiu contents uncle i the coast of france il the salt the ruined cottage iv men of the night v the law vl the secret passage the owner of cousin ix the camp of x the room ill xi the secretary the man of action the man of dreams xiv xv the reception of the the library of the end ix the great shadow chapter i the night of thb it is strange to me jack of west inch to feel that though now in the very centre of the nineteenth i am but five and fifty years of age and though it is only once in a week perhaps that my wife can pluck out a little grey fix m over my ear yet i have lived in a time when the thoughts and the ways of men were as different as though it were another planet from this for when i walk in my fields i can see down way the uttle of white smoke which tell me of this strange new hundred legged beast with coals for food and a thousand men in its belly for ever crawling over the border on a shiny day i can see the of the brass work as it takes the curve near and then as i look out to sea there is the same beast again or a dozen of them maybe leaving a of black in the air and of white in the water and swimming in the of the wind as easily as a salmon up the such a sight as that would have struck my good old ther speechless with wrath as well as surprise for he was so stricken with the fear of the great shadow the creator that he was of nature and rs held the new thing to be nearly akin to the as long as god made the horse and a man down way the engine my good old would have stuck by the saddle and the spurs but he would have been still more surprised if he had seen the peace and which reign now in the hearts of men and the talk in the papers and at the meetings that there is to be no more war save of course with and for when he died we had been fighting with scarce a break save for two short years for very nearly a quarter of a century think of it you who live so and peacefully now babies who were bom in the war grew to be bearded men with babies of their own and still the war continued those who had served and fought in their prime grew stiff and bent and yet the ships and the armies were struggling it was no wonder that folk came at last to look upon it as the natural state and thought how queer it must seem to be at peace during that long time we fought the dutch we fought the we fought the spanish we fought the we fought the americans we fought the until it seemed that in this universal struggle no race was too near of kin or too ar away to be drawn into the quarrel but most of all it was the french whom we fought and the man whom of all others we and feared and admired was the great captain who ruled them the night of the it was very well to draw pictures of him and sing songs about him and make as though he were an but i can tell you that the fear of that man hung like a black shadow over all europe and that there was a time when the of a fire at night upon the coast would set every woman upon her knees and every man for his he had always that was the terror of it the seemed to be behind him and now we know that he lay upon the northern coast with a hundred and fifty thousand and the boats for their passage but it is an old story how a third of the grown folk of our country took up arms and how our little one eyed one armed man crushed their fleet there was still to be a land of free and free speaking in europe there was a great ready on the hill by built up of logs and tar barrels and i can well remember how night after night i strained my eyes to see if it were i was only eight at the time but it is an age when one takes a grief to heart and i felt as though the fate of the country hung in some fashion upon me and my vigilance and then one night as i looked i suddenly saw a little on the hill a single red tongue of flame in the darkness i remember how i rubbed my eyes and pinched myself and my against the stone window sill to make sure that i was indeed awake and then the flame shot higher and i saw the red quivering line upon the water beyond and i dashed great shadow into the kitchen to my father that the french had crossed and the light was he had been talking to mr the law student from and i can see him now as he knocked his pipe out at the side of the fire and looked at me from over the top of his horn spectacles are you sure says he sure as death i gasped he reached out his hand for	4
the bible upon the table and opened it upon his knee as though he meant to to us but he shut it again in silence and hurried out we went too the law student and i and followed him down to the gate which opens out upon the highway from there we could see the red light of the big and the glimmer of a smaller one to the north of us at my mother came down with two to keep the chill from us and we all stood there until morning speaking little to each other and that httle in a whisper the road had more folk on it than ever passed along it at night before for many of the up our way had themselves in the and were riding now as fast as could carry them for the muster some had a cup or two before parting and i cannot forget one who tore past on a huge white horse a great rusty sword in the moonlight they shouted to us as they passed that the north law fire was blazing and that it was thought that the alarm had come from the night of the castle there were a few who galloped the other way for and the s son and master the and and among others there was one a heavy man on a horse who pulled up at our gate and asked some question about the road he took off his hat to ease himself and i saw that he had a kindly long drawn and a great high brow that shot away up into of sandy hair i doubt it s a alarm says he maybe i d ha done well to bide where i was but now i ve come so i ll break my st with the regiment he clapped spurs to his horse and away he went down the i ken him said our student nodding after him he s a lawyer in and a hand at the of verses scott is his name none of us had heard of it then but it was not long before it was the best known name in scotland and many a time we thought of how he his way of us on the night of the terror but early in the morning we had our minds set at ease it was grey and cold and my mother had gone up to the house to make a pot of tea for us when there came a down the road with dr of in it and his son jim the collar of the doctor s coat came over his ears and he looked in a deadly black humour for jim who was but fifteen years of age had off to at the first alarm with his father s new piece all night his had chased him and the great shadow now there he was a prisoner with the barrel of the stolen gun sticking out from behind the seat he looked as sulky as his father with his hands thrust into his side pockets his brows drawn down and his lower lip thrust out it s all a lie shouted the doctor as he passed there has been no landing and all the fools in scotland have been about the roads for nothing his son jim something up at him on this and his father struck him a blow with his clenched fist on the side of his head which sent the boy s chin forward upon his breast as though he had been stunned my father shook his head for he had a liking for jim but we all walked up to the house again nodding and and hardly able to keep our eyes open now that we knew that all was safe but with a thrill of joy at our hearts such as i have only matched once or twice in my lifetime now all this has little enough to do with what i took my pen up to tell about but when a man has a good memory and little skill he cannot draw one thought from his mind without a dozen others out behind it and yet now that come to think of it this had to do with it after all for jim had so deadly a quarrel with his father that he was packed off to s academy and as my father had long wished me to go there he took advantage of this chance to send me also but before i say a word about this school i shall go back to where i should the night of the have begun and give you a hint as to who i am for it may be that these words of mine may be read by some folk beyond the border country who never heard of the of west inch it has a brave sound west inch but it is not a fine estate with a house upon it but only a great hard bitten wind swept sheep run off into links along the sea shore where a man might with hard work just pay his rent and have butter instead of on sundays in the centre there is a grey slate house with a behind it and in stone work over the of the door there for more than a hundred years our folk have lived until for all their poverty they came to take a good place among the people for in the country parts the old is often better thought of than the new there was one queer thing about the house of west inch it has been reckoned by and other knowing folk that the boundary line between the two countries ran right through the middle of it our second best bedroom into an english half and a scotch half now the cot in which i always slept was so placed that my head was	4
to the north of the line and my feet to the south of it my friends say that if i had chanced to lie the other way my hair might not have been so sandy nor my mind of so solemn a cast this i know that more than once in my life when my b d could see no way out of a danger my the great shadow good thick english legs have come to my help and carried me clear away but at school i never heard the end of this for they called me half and the great and sometimes union jack when there was a battle between the scotch and the english boys one side would kick my and the other my ears and then they would both stop and laugh as though it were something funny at first i was very miserable at the academy was the first master and the second and i had no love for either of them i was shy and backward by nature and slow at making a either among masters or boys it was nine miles as the crow flies and eleven and a half by road fix m to west inch and my heart grew weary at the heavy distance that separated me firom my mother for mark you a lad of that age that he has no need of his mother s caresses but ah how sad he is when he is taken at his word at last i could stand it no longer and i determined to run away fix m the school and make my way home as fast as i might at the very last moment however i had the good fortune to win the praise and admiration of every one firom the head master downwards and to find my school life made very pleasant and easy to me and all this came of my falling by accident out of a second floor window this was how it happened one evening i had been kicked by ned who was the bully of the night of the the school and this injury coming on the top of all my other caused my little cup to i vowed that night as i buried my face beneath the blankets that the next morning would either find me at west inch or well on the way to it our was on the second floor but i was a famous and had a fine head for heights i used to think little young as i was of swinging myself with a rope round my off the west inch and that stood three and fifty feet above the ground there was not much fear then but that i could make my way out of s i waited a weary while until the and tossing had died away and there was no sound of fix m the long line of wooden then i very softly rose on my clothes took my shoes in my hand and walked to the window i opened the and looked out underneath me lay the garden and close by my hand was the stout branch of a tree an active lad could ask no better ladder once in the garden i had but a five foot wall to get over and then there was nothing but distance between me and home i took a firm grip of a branch with one hand placed my knee upon another one and was about to swing myself out of the window when in a moment i was as silent and as still as though i had been turned to stone there was a ce looking at me firom over the of the wall a chill of fear struck to my a the great shadow heart at its whiteness and its the moon upon it and the moved slowly fix m side to side though i was hidden from them behind the screen of the tree then in a this white face ascended until the neck shoulders waist and knees of a man became visible he sat himself down upon the top of the wall and with a great heave he pulled up after him a boy about my own size who caught his breath from time to time as though to choke down a sob the man gave him a shake with a few rough whispered words and then the two dropped together down into the garden i was still standing balanced with one foot upon the bough and one upon the not daring to for fear of their attention for i could hear them moving stealthily about in the long shadow of the house suddenly from immediately beneath my feet i heard a low grating noise and the sharp of falling glass that s done it said the man s eager whisper there is room for you but the edge is all jagged cried the other in a weak the fellow burst out into an oath that made my skin in with you you he or i could not see what he did but there was a short quick gasp of pain ill go ill go cried the little lad but i heard no more for my head suddenly swam my it the night of the heel shot off the branch i gave a dreadful yell and came down with my ninety five pounds of weight right upon the bent back of the if you ask me i can only say that to this day i am not quite certain whether it was an accident or whether i designed it it may be that while i was thinking of doing it chance settled the matter for me the fellow was stooping his head forward thrusting the boy through a tiny window when i came down upon him just where the neck the he gave a kind of whistling cry dropped upon his face and rolled three times	4
over on the grass with his heels his little companion flashed off in the moonlight and wa over the wall in a as for me i sat yelling at the pitch of my lungs and nursing one of my legs which felt as if a red hot ring were round it it was not long as may be imagined before the whole household from the head master to the stable boy was out in the garden with lamps and the matter was soon cleared the man carried off on a and i borne in much state and solemnity to a special bedroom where the small bone of my leg was set by surgeon the younger of the two brothers of that name as to the robber it was found that his legs were and the doctors were of two minds as to whether he would recover the use of them or not but the law never gave them a chance of settling the matter for he was hanged after some six weeks later it was proved that he the great shadow was the most desperate rogue in the north of land for he had done three at the least and there were charges enough against him upon the sheet to have hanged him ten times over well now i could not pass over my boyhood without telling you about this which was the most important thing that happened to me but i will go off upon no more side tracks for when i think of all that is coming i can see very well that i shall have more than enough to do before i have finished for when a man has only his own uttle private tale to tell it often takes him all his time but when he gets mixed up in such great matters as i shall have to speak about then it is hard on him if he has not been brought up to it to get it all set down to his liking but my memory is as good as ever thank god and i shall try to get it all straight before i finish it was this business of the that first made a friendship between jim the doctor s son and me he was cock boy of the school from the day he came for within the hour he had thrown who had been cock before him right through the big black board in the jim always ran to muscle and bone and even then he was square and tall short of speech and long in the arm much given to lounging with his broad back against walls and his hands deep in his breeches pockets i can even recall that he had a trick of keeping a straw in the comer of his mouth just where he used afterwards to hold his the night op the pipe jim was always the same for good and for bad since first i knew him heavens how we all looked up to him i we were but young savages and had a savage s respect for power there was tom of who could write as well as mere and yet nobody would give a snap for tom and there was who had every date from the killing of on the tip of his tongue so that the masters themselves would turn to him if they were in doubt yet he was but a narrow lad over long for his breadth and what did his dates help him when jack of the lower third him down the passage with the end of a but you didn t do things like that with jim what tales we used to whisper about his strength how he put his fist through the oak of the game room door how when long was the ball he caught up ball and all and ran swiftly past every opponent to the goal it did not seem fit to us that such a one as he should trouble his head about and or care to know who signed the when he said in open class that king was the man we little boys all felt that very likely it was so and that perhaps jim knew more about it than the man who wrote the book well it was this business of the that drew his attention to me for he patted me on my head and said that i was a little devil the great shadow which blew me out with pride for a week on end for two years we were close friends for all the gap that the years had made between us and though in passion or in want of thought he did many a thing that me yet i loved him like a brother and wept as much as would have filled an ink bottle when at last after two years he went off to to study his father s profession five years after that did i bide at s and when i left had become cock myself for i was as and as tough as though i never ran to weight and like my great it was in year that i left s and then for three years i stayed at home learning the ways of the cattle but still the ships and the armies were and still the great shadow of lay across the country how could i guess that i too should have a hand in lifting that shadow for ever from our people u chapter n cousin of some years before when i was still but a lad there had come over to us upon a five weeks visit the only daughter of my father s brother had settled at as a maker of and he had made more out of than ever we were like to do out of the bushes and sand links of west inch so his daughter came over	4
have given it back but she would still have me keep it you shall be my tor jack said she laughing is this our carriage how funny it looks and where am i to sit on the said i and how am i to get there put your foot on the said i help you i sprang up and took her two little hands in my own as she came over the side her breath blew in my sweet and warm and all that and seemed in a moment to have been away from my soul i felt as if that instant had taken me out from myself and made me one of the race it took but the time of the of the horse s tail and yet something had happened a barrier had gone down somewhere and i was leading a wider and a wiser life i felt it all in a but shy and backward as i was i could do nothing but out the for her her eyes were after the coach which was rattling away to and suddenly she shook her handkerchief in the air he took off his hat said she i think he must have been an he was very cousin of looking perhaps you noticed him a gen on the outside very handsome with a brown overcoat i shook my head with all my flush of joy changed to foolish resentment ah well i shall never see him again here are all the green and the brown winding road just the same as ever and you jack i don t see any great change in you either i hope your manners are better than they used to be you won t try to put any down my back will you i crept all over when i thought of such a thing we ll do all we can to make you happy at west inch said i playing with the whip i m sure it s very kind of you to take a poor lonely girl in said she it s very kind of you to come cousin i stammered find it very dull i fear i suppose it is a little quiet jack not many men about as i remember it there is major up at he comes down of an evening a real brave old soldier who had a ball in his knee under ah when i speak of men jack i don t mean old folk with balls in their knees i meant people of our own age that we could make friends of by the way that old doctor had a son had he not oh yes that s jim my best friend is he at home the great shadow no hell be home soon he s still at studying ah then well keep each other company he comes jack and i m very tired and i wish i was at west inch i made old cover the ground as he had never done before or since and in an hour she was seated at the supper table where my mother had laid out not only butter but a glass dish of jam which sparkled and looked fine in the candle light i could see that my parents were as overcome as i was at the difference in her though not in the same way my mother was so set back by the feather thing that she had round her neck that she called her miss instead of until my cousin in her pretty way would lift her forefinger to her whenever she did it after supper when she had gone to her bed they could talk of nothing but her looks and her breeding by the way though sa my father it does not look as if she were heart broke about my brother s death and then for the first time i remembered that she had never said a word about the matter since i had met her u chapter m the shadow on the waters it was not very long before cousin was queen of west inch and we all her devoted subjects from my down she had money and to spare though none of us knew how much when my mother said that four shillings the week would cover all that she would cost she fixed on seven shillings and sixpence of her own fi e will the south room which was the and had the round the window was for her and it was a marvel to see the things that she brought from to put into it twice a week she would drive over and the cart would not do for her for she hired a from whose farm lay over the hill and it was seldom she went without bringing something back for one or other of us it was a wooden pipe for my or a for my mother or a book for me or a brass collar for rob the there was never a woman more handed but the best thing that she gave us was just her own presence to me it changed the whole country side and the sun was brighter and the and the air sweeter fix m the day she came our lives were common no longer now that we spent them with such a one as she and the old the great shadow dull grey house was another place in my eyes she had set her foot across the door mat it was not her though that was enough nor her form though i never saw the at could match her but it was her spirit her queer mocking ways her fresh new fashion of talk her proud of the dress and toss of the head which made one feel like the ground beneath her feet and then the quick challenge in her eye and the kindly word that brought one up to	4
her level again but never quite to her level either to me she was always something above and beyond i might brace myself and blame myself and do what i would but still i could not feel that the same blood ran in our veins and that she was but a country as i was a country lad the more i loved her the more frightened i was at her and she could see the fright long before she knew the love i was uneasy to be away from her and yet when i was with her i was in a shiver all the time for fear my stumbling talk might weary her or give her offence had i known more of the ways of women i might have taken less pains you re a deal changed from what you used to be jack said she looking at me sideways from under her dark lashes you said that when first we met said i ah i was speaking of your looks then and of your ways now you used to be so rough with me and so imperious and would have your own way like the uttle man that you were i can see the shadow on the waters you now with your tangled brown hair and your mischievous eyes and now you are so gentle and quiet and soft spoken one to behave says i ah but jack i liked you so much better as you were well when she said that i stared at her for i had thought that she could never have quite forgiven me for the way i used to carry on that any one out of a house could have liked it was clean beyond my understanding i thought of how when she was reading by the door i would go up on the with a and fix little clay balls at the end of it and them at her until i made her cry and then i thought of how i caught an in the bum and her about with it until she ran screaming under my mother s apron half mad with and my father gave me one on the ear hole with the stick which knocked me and my under the kitchen and these were the things that she missed well she must miss them for my hand would before i could do them now but for the first time i began to understand the that lies in a woman and that a man must not reason about one but just watch and try to learn we found our level after a time when she saw that she had just to do what she liked and how she liked and that i was as much at her and call as old rob was at mine you ll think that i was the great shadow a fool to have had my head so turned and maybe i was but then you must think how uttle i was used to women and how much we were thrown together besides she was a woman in a million and i can tell you that it was a strong head that would not be turned by her why there was major a man that had buried three wives and had twelve pitched battles to his name could have turned him round her finger like a damp rag she only new from the boarding school i met from west inch the first time after she came with pink in his cheeks and a shine in his eye that took ten years from him he was up his grey at either end and curling them into his eyes and out with his sound leg as proud as a what she had said to him the lord knows but it was like old wine in his veins i ve been up to see you said he but i must home again now my visit has not been wasted however as i had an opportunity of seeing la a most charming and engaging young lady he had a formal stiff way of talking and was fond of in a bit of the french for he had picked some up in the he would have gone on talking of cousin but i saw the comer of a newspaper thrusting out of his pocket and i knew that he had come over as was his way to give me some news for we heard little enough at west inch what is major i asked the shadow on the waters he pulled the paper out with a flourish the have won a great battle my says he i don t think nap can stand up long against this the have thrown him over and he s been badly beat at is past the p and s folk will be at before long i up my hat then the war will come to an end at last i cried aye and time too said he shaking his head gravely it s been a bloody business but it is hardly worth while for me to say now what was in my mind about you what was that well you are doing no good here and now that my knee is getting more i was hoping that i might get on active service again i wondered whether maybe you might like to do a little under me my heart jumped at the thought aye would ii i cried but be clear six months before be fit to pass a board and it s long odds that will be under lock and key before that and there s my mother said i i doubt she d never let me go ah well she ll never be asked to now he answered and on upon his way i sat down among the with my chin on my hand turning the thing over in my mind and watching	4
him in his old brown with the the great shadow end of a grey flapping over his shoulder as he picked his way up the swell of the hill it was a poor life this at west inch waiting to fill my father s shoes with the same heath and the same bum and the same sheep and the same grey house for ever before me but over there over blue sea ah there was a life fit for a man there was the major a man past his prime wounded and spent and yet planning to get to work again whilst i with all the strength of my youth was wasting it upon these hill sides a hot wave of shame flushed over me and i sprang up all in a to be off and play a man s part in tiie world for two days i turned it over in my mind and on the third there came something which first brought my resolutions to a head and then blew them all to nothing like a puff of smoke in the wind i had strolled out in the afternoon with cousin and rob until we found ourselves on the brow of the slope which away down to the beach it was late in the fall and the were all and but the sun still shone warmly and a south breeze came in little hot rippling the broad blue sea with white lines i pulled an of to make a couch for and there she lay in her fashion happy and contented for of all folk that i have ever met she had the most joy firom warmth and light i leaned on a of grass with rob s head upon my knee and there as we sat the shadow on the waters alone in in tiie e then we saw suddenly n on the in of us the shadow of that great man over yonder who had his name in red across the map of europe was a coming up with the wind a bound for as as not her yards were square and she was running with all sail set on coming n the were two great like with high mast each and a square brown sail a prettier sight one would not wish than to see the three craft along so a day but of a there came a of flame and a whirl of smoke firom one then the same firom the second and a rap rap rap the ship in a twinkling hell had out there on the water ware hatred and and the lust for blood we had sprung to our feet at the outburst and put her hand all in a tremble upon my arm they are fighting jack she cried what are they who are they my heart was with the guns and it was all that i could do to answer her for the catch of my breath it s two french said i they call them and yon s one of our merchant ships and take her as sure as death for the major says tliat they ve always got heavy guns and are as full of men as an s full c the great shadow of meat why doesn t the fool make back for bar but not an inch of canvas did she lower on in her stolid fashion while a little black ball ran up to her peak and the rare old flag streamed suddenly out from the then again came the rap rap rap of her little guns and the boom boom of the big in the bows of the an instant later the three ships met and the staggered on like a with two wolves hanging to its the three became but a dark amid the smoke with the top thrusting out in a and from the heart of that cloud came the quick red flashes of flame and such a devil s of big guns and small cheering and screaming as was to din in my head for many a week for a stricken hour the hell cloud moved slowly across the face of the water and still with our hearts in our mouths we watched the of the flag straining to see if it were yet there and then suddenly the ship proud ld k d high ever on upon her way and as the smoke cleared we saw one of the like a broken winged duck upon the water and the other working hard to get the crew from her before she sank for all that hour i had lived for nothing but the fight my cap had been away by the wind but i had never given it a thought now with my heart ml i turned upon cousin and the sight of her took me back six there the shadow on the waters was the vacant staring eye and the parted lips just as i had seen them in her and her little hands were clenched until the gleamed like ivory ah that said she to the heath and the bushes th e is a man so strong so resolute what woman would not be proud of a man like that aye he did well i cried with enthusiasm she looked at me as if she had forgotten my existence i would give a year of my life to meet such a man said she but that is what living in the country means one never sees anybody but just those who are fit for nothing better i do not know that she meant to hurt me though she was never very backward that but whatever her intention her words seemed to strike straight upon a naked nerve very well cousin i said trying to speak calmly that puts the cap on it i ll take the in to	4
night what jack you be a soldier yes if you think that every man that in the country must be a coward oh you d look so handsome in a red coat jack and it you vastly when you are in a temper i wish your eyes would always flash like that for it looks so nice and manly but i am sure that you are joking about the ill let you see if i m joking then and there the great shadow i set off running over the until i burst into the kitchen where my ther and mother were sitting on either side of the mother i cried i m off for a soldier had i said that i was off for a they could not have looked worse over it for in those days among the decent country folks it was mostly the black sheep that were by the but my word those same black sheep did their country some rare service tool my mother put up her to her eyes and my father looked as black as a hole you re he or no i m going then you ll have no blessing from me then go without at this my mother gave a and throws her arms about my neck i saw her hand all hard and worn and with the work that she had done for my and it pleaded with me as words could not have done my heart was soft for her but my will was as hard as a flint edge i put her back in her chair with a kiss and then ran to my room to pack my bundle it was already growing dark and i had a long walk before me so i thrust a few things together and hastened out as i came through the side door some one touched my shoulder and there was in the silly boy said she you are not really going am i not you ll see the shadow on the waters but your father does not wish it nor your mother i know that then why go you ought to know why then because you make me i don t want you to go jack you said it you said that the folk in the country were fit for nothing better you always speak like that you think no more of me than of those in the cot you think i m nobody at au ill show you different all my troubles came out in hot uttle of speech she coloured up as i spoke and looked at me in her queer half mocking half fashion oh i think so little of you as that said she and that is the reason why you are going away well then jack will you stay if i am if i am kind to you we were face to ce and close together and in an instant the thing was done my arms were round her and i was kissing her and kissing her and kissing her on her mouth her cheeks her eyes and pressing her to my heart and whispering to her that she was all all to me and that i could not be without her she said nothing but it was long before she turned her face aside and when she pushed me back it was not very hard why you are quite your rude old impudent said she her hair with her two hands the great shadow you have tossed me jack i had no idea that you would be so forward but all my fear of her was gone and a love than ever was boiling in my veins i took her up again and kissed her as if it were my right you are my very own now i cried i shall not go to but i ll stay and marry you but she laughed when i spoke of marriage silly boy silly boy said she with her forefinger up and then when i tried to lay hands on her again she gave a little dainty courtesy and was off into the house chapter iv thb choosing of jim and then there came ten weeks which were like a dream and are so now to look back upon i would weary you were i to tell you what passed between us but oh how earnest and and all it was at the time her her ever varying moods now bright now dark like a meadow under drifting clouds her her sudden each in turn filling me with joy or sorrow these were my life and all the rest was but but ever deep down behind all my other feelings was a vague a fear that i was like the man who set forth to lay hands upon the rainbow and that the real however near she might seem was in truth for ever beyond my reach for she was so hard to understand or at least she was so for a dull country lad like me for if i would talk to her of my real prospects and how by taking in the whole of we might earn a hundred good pounds over the extra rent and maybe be able to build out the parlour at west inch so as to make it fine for her when we married she would her lip and her eyes as though she scarce had patience to listen to me but if i would let her up dreams about the great shadow what i might become how i might find a paper which proved me to be the true heir of the or how without joining the army which she would by no means hear of i showed myself to be a great warrior until my name was in all folk s mouth then she would be as as the may i would keep up the play	4
the night my father had met jim on the high road as a thunder cloud and with an insult in his the great shadow eye for man that passed him said the old man hell make a fine practice for if breaking bones do it cousin laughed at all this and i laughed because she did but i was not so sure that it was funny on the third day afterwards i was going up by the sheep track when who should i see down but jim himself but he was another man the big kindly who had his with us the other morning he had no collar nor tie his was open his hair and his face like a man who has drunk heavily he carried an oak stick and he at the bushes on either side of the path why jim said i but he looked at me in the way that i had often seen at school when the devil was strong in him and when he knew that he was in the wrong and yet set his will to brazen it out not a word did he say but he brushed past me on the narrow path and on still his ash plant and cutting at the bushes ah well i was not angry with him i was vary sorry and that was of course i was not so blind but that i could see how the matter stood he was in love with and he could not bear to think that i should have her poor devil how could he help it i maybe i should have been the same there was a time when i should have the choosing of jim wondered that a girl could have turned a strong man s head like that but i knew more about it now for a fortnight i saw nothing of jim and then came the thursday which was to change the whole current of my life i had woke early tliat day and with a little thrill of joy which is a rare thing to feel when a man first opens his eyes had been kinder than usual the night before and i had fallen asleep with the thought that maybe at last i had caught the rainbow and that without any or make believes she was learning to love plain jack of west inch it was this thought still at my heart which had given me that little morning of joy and then i remembered that if i hastened i might be in time for her for it was her custom to go out with the sunrise but i was too late when i came to her door it was half open and the room empty well thought i at least i may meet her and have the homeward walk with her from the top of the hill you may see all the country round so catching up my stick i swung off in that direction it was bright but cold and the surf i remember was loudly though there had been no wind in our parts for days i up the steep pathway breathing in the thin keen morning air and humming a hit as i went until i came out a little short of breath among the upon the top looking down the long slope of the a the great shadow farther side i saw cousin as i had expected and i saw jim walking by her side they were not far away but too taken up with each other to see me she was walking slowly with the little cock of her dainty head which i knew so well casting her eyes away from him and shooting out a word from time to time he paced along beside her looking down at her and bending his head in the eagerness of his talk then as he said something she placed her hand with a caress upon his arm and he carried off his feet plucked her up and kissed her again and again at the sight i could neither cry out nor move but stood with a heart of lead and the face of a dead man staring down at them i saw her hand passed over his shoulder and that his kisses were as welcome to her as ever mine had been then he set her down again and i found that this had been their parting for indeed in another hundred paces they would have come in view of the upper windows of the house she walked slowly away with a wave back once or twice and he stood looking after her i waited until she was some way off and then down i came but so taken up was he that i was within a hand s touch of him before he round upon me he tried to smile as his eyes met mine ah says he early i i saw you i gasped and my throat had turned so dry that i spoke like a man with a the choosing of jim did you so said he and he gave a little whistle well on my life i m not sorry i was thinking of coming up to west inch this very day and having it out with you maybe it s better as it is you ve been a fine friend said i well now be reasonable said he sticking his hands into his pockets and rocking to and fro as he stood let me show you how it stands look me in the eye and you ll see that i don t lie it s this way i had met miss that is before i came that morning and there were things which made me look upon her as free and thinking that i let my mind dwell on her then you said she wasn t free but was promised to you	4
and that was the worst knock i ve had for a time it clean put me off and i made a fool of myself for some days and it s a mercy i m not in jail then by chance i met her again on my soul it was chance for me and when i spoke of you she laughed at the thought it was cousin and cousin she said but as for her not being free or you being more to her than a friend it was fool s talk so you see i was not so much to blame after all the more so as she promised that she would let you see by her conduct that you were mistaken in thinking that you had any claim upon her you must have noticed that she has hardly had a word for you for these last two weeks i laughed bitterly it was only last night the great shadow said i that she told me that i was the only man in all this earth that she could ever bring herself to love jim put out a shaking hand and laid it on my shoulder while he pushed his face forward to look into my eyes said he i never knew you to tell a lie you are not trying to score trick against trick are you honest now between man and man it s god s truth said i he stood looking at me and his face had set like that of a man who is having a hard fight with himself it was a long two minutes before he spoke see here said he this woman is us both d you hear man she s us both she loves you at west inch and she loves me on the side and in her devil s heart she cares a blossom for neither of us let s join hands man and send the hell fire to the but this was too much i could not curse her in my own heart and still less could i stand by and hear another man do it not though it was my oldest don t you call names i cried you me with your soft talk call her what she should be called will you though said i off my coat look you here jim if you say another word against her i ll it dawn your the choosing of jim throat if you were as big as castle try me and see he off his coat down to the elbows and then he slowly pulled it on again don t be such a fool said he four stone and five inches is more than mortal man can give two old mustn t out over such a well there i won t say it well by the lord if she hasn t nerve for ten i i looked round and there she was not twenty yards us looking as cool and easy and placid as we were hot and i was nearly home said she when i saw you two boys very busy talking so i came all the way back to know what it was about took a run forward and caught her by the wrist she gave a little at the sight of his ce but he pulled her towards where i was standing now we ve had enough said he here she is shall we take her word as to which she likes she can t trick us now that we re both together i am willing said i and so am i if she goes for you i swear i ll never so much as turn an eye on her again will you do as much for me yes i wiu well then look here you we re both honest men and friends and we tell each other no lies and so we know your double ways i know what you the great shadow said last night knows what you said to day d you see now then ur and square here we are before you once and have done which is it to be or me you would have thought that the woman would have been overwhelmed with shame but instead of that her eyes were shining with delight and i dare that it was the moment of her life as she looked from one to the other of us with the cold morning sun glittering on her face i had never seen her look so lovely jim felt it also i am sure for he dropped her wrist and the harsh lines were softened upon his face come i which is it to be he asked naughty boys i to fall out like this she cried cousin jack you know how fond i am of you oh then go to him i said but i love nobody but jim there is nobody that i love like jim she up to him and laid her cheek against his breast you see said he looking over her shoulder i did see and away i went for west inch another man from the time that i left it it chapter v thb man from the sea well i was never one to sit groaning over a cracked pot if it cannot be mended then it is the part of a man to say no more of it for weeks i had an aching heart indeed it is a little sore now after all these years and a happy marriage when i think of it but i kept a brave face on me and above all i did as i had promised that day on the i was a brother to her and no more though there were times when i had to put a hard upon myself for even now she would come to me with her ways and with tales about	4
foot on the yes said i while jim burst out laughing england scotland scotland but it s england past yonder trees bon i know where i am now i ve been in a fog without a compass for nearly three days and i didn t thought i was ever to see land again he spoke english enough but with some strange of speech from time to time where did you come from then asked jim i was in a ship that was wrecked said he shortly what is the town down yonder it is ah well i must get stronger before i can go he towards the boat and as he did so he gave a and would have fallen had he not caught the on this he seated himself and looked round him with a face that was flushed and two eyes that blazed like a wild beast s de la he roared in a voice like a trumpet and then again de la he waved his hat above his head and suddenly forward upon his on the sand he lay all huddled into a little brown heap jim and i stood and stared at each other the coming of the man had been so strange it the great shadow and his questions and now this sudden turn we took him by a shoulder each and turned him upon his back there he lay with his nose and his cat s whiskers but his lips were and his breath would scarce shake a feather he s dying jim i cried aye for want of food and water there s not a drop or a in the boat maybe there s something in the bag he sprang in and brought out a black leather bag which with a large blue coat was the only thing in the boat it was locked but jim had it open in an instant it was half full of gold pieces neither of us had ever seen so much before no nor a tenth part of it there must have been hundreds of them all bright new british sovereigns indeed so taken up were we that we had forgotten all about their owner until a groan took our thoughts back to him his lips were than ever and his jaw had dropped i can see his open mouth now with its row of white teeth my god he s off cried jim here run to the bum for a of water quick man or he s gone i ll his things the away i tore and was back in a minute with as much water as would stay in my jim had pulled open the man s coat and shirt and we the water over him and forced some between his lips it had a good effect for after a gasp or two he sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly like a man who is fix m a deep sleep but the man from the sea neither jim nor i were looking at his face now for our eyes were fixed on his uncovered chest there were two deep red in it one just below the collar bone and the other about half way down on the right side the skin of his body was extremely white up to the brown line of his neck and the angry spots looked the more vivid against it from above i could see that there was a corresponding in the back at one place but not at the other inexperienced as i was i could tell what that meant two bullets had pierced his one had passed through it and the other had remained inside but suddenly he staggered up to his feet and pulled his shirt to with a quick suspicious glance at us what have i been doing he asked i ve been off my head take no notice of anything i may have said have i been shouting you shouted just before you fell what did i shout i told him though it bore little meaning to my mind he looked sharply at us and then he shrugged his shoulders it s the words of a song said he well the question is what am i to do now i didn t thought i was so weak where did you get the water i pointed towards the bum and he staggered off to the bank there he lay down upon his face and he drank until i thought he would never have done his long neck was outstretched like the great shadow a horse s and he made a loud noise with his lips at last he got up with a long sigh and wiped his moustache with his sleeve that s better said he have you any food i had crammed two bits of into my pocket when i left home and these he crushed into his mouth and swallowed then he his shoulders puffed out his chest and patted his ribs with the flat of his hands i am sure that i owe you exceedingly well said he you have been very kind to a stranger but i see that you have had occasion to open my bag we hoped that we might find wine or brandy there when you ah i have nothing there but just my little how do you say it my they are not much but i must live quietly upon them until i find something to do now one could live very quietly here i should say i could not have come upon a more peaceful place without perhaps so much as a nearer than that town you haven t told us yet who you are where you come from nor what you have been said jim the stranger looked him up and down with a critical eye my word i but you would make a for a flank company	4
said he as to what you ask i might take offence at it fix m other but you have a right to know since you have received me with so great courtesy my name is the man from the sea de i am a and a wanderer by trade and i have come from as you may see painted upon the boat i thought that you had been said i but he looked at me with the straight gaze of an honest man that is right said he but the ship went from and this is one of her boats the crew got away in the long boat and she went down so quickly that i had no time to put anything into her that was on monday and to day s thursday you have been three days without bite or sup it is too long said he twice before i have been for two days but never quite so long as this well i shall leave my boat here and see whether i can get lodgings in any of these little grey houses up on the why is that great fire burning over yonder it is one of our neighbours who has served against the french he is rejoicing because peace has been declared oh you have a neighbour who has served then i am glad for i too have seen a little here and there he did not look glad but he drew his brows down over his keen eyes you are french are you not i asked as we all walked up the hill together he with his black bag in his hand and his long blue cloak over his shoulder the great shadow well i am of said he and you know they are more than french for i have been in so many lands that i feel at home in all i have been a great traveller and where do you think that i might find a lodging i can scarcely tell now on looking back with the great gap of five and thirty years between what impression this singular man had made upon me i him i think and yet i was fascinated by him also for there was something in his bearing in his look and his whole of speech which was entirely unlike anything that i had ever seen jim was a fine man and major was a brave one but they both lacked something that this wanderer had it was the quick alert look the flash of the eye the nameless distinction which is so hard to fix and then we had saved him when he lay gasping on the and one s heart always towards what one has once helped if you will come with me said i i have little doubt that i can find you a bed for a night or two and by that time you will be better able to make your own arrangements he pulled off his hat and bowed with all the grace imaginable but jim pulled me by the sleeve and led me aside you re mad he whispered the fellow s a common adventurer what do you want to get mixed up with him for but i was as obstinate a man as ever the man from the sea his boots and if you jerked me back it was the finest way of sending me to the front he s a stranger and it s our part to look after him said i you ll be sorry for it said he maybe so if you don t think of yourself you might think of your cousin can take very good care of herself well then the devil take you and you may do what you like he cried in one of his sudden of anger without a word of farewell to either of us he turned off upon the track that led up towards his father s house de smiled at me as we walked on together i didn t thought he liked me very much said he i can see very well that he has made a quarrel with you because you are taking me to your home what does he think of me then does he think perhaps that i have stole the gold in my bag or what is it that he fears tut i neither know nor care said i no stranger shall pass our door without a crust and a bed with my head cocked and feeling as if i was doing something very fine instead of being the most fool south of i marched on down the path with my new acquaintance at my elbow chapter vi a wandering my ther seemed to be much of jim s opinion for he was not over warm to this new guest and looked him up and down with a very questioning eye he set a dish of before him however and i noticed that he looked more than ever when my companion ate nine of them for two were always our portion when at last he had finished de s were drooping over his eyes for i doubt not that he had been sleepless as well as for these three days it was but a poor room to which i led him but he threw himself down upon the couch wrapped his big blue cloak around him and was asleep in an instant he was a very high and strong and as my room was next to his i had reason to remember that we had a stranger within our gates when i came down in the morning i found that he had been beforehand with me for he was seated opposite my father at the window table in the kitchen their heads almost touching and a little roll of gold pieces between them as i came in my father looked up at me and i saw a	4
light of in his eyes such as i had never seen before a wandering eagle he caught up the money with an eager clutch and swept it into his pocket very good said he the room s yours and you pay on the third of the month ah and here is my fu st friend cried de holding out his hand to me with a smile which was kindly enough and yet had that touch of patronage which a man uses when he smiles to his dog i am again now thanks to my excellent supper and good night s rest ah it is hunger that takes the courage fix m a man that most and cold next aye that s right said my father i ve been out on the in a snow drift for six and thirty hours and i ken what it is like i once saw three thousand men starve to death remarked de putting out his hands to the fire day by day they got thinner and more like and they did come down to the edge of the where we did keep them and they howled with rage and pain the first few days their went over the whole city but aft er a week our on the bank could not hear them so weak they had and they died i exclaimed they held out a very long time they were of the corps of fine stout men as big as your friend of yesterday but when the town fell there were but four hundred alive and a man could lift them three at a time as the great shadow if they were little it was a pity ah my friend you will do me the honours with madame and with it was my mother and who had come into the kitchen he had not seen them the night before but now it was all i could do to keep my ce as i watched him for instead of our homely nod he bent up his back like a and slid his foot and clapped his hand over his heart in the way my mother stared for she thought he was making of her but cousin fell into it in an instant as though it had been a game and away she went in a great courtesy until i thought she would have had to give it up and sit down right there in the middle of the kitchen floor but no she was up again as light as a piece of and we all drew up our and started on the and milk and he had a way with women that man now if i were to do it or jim it would look as if we were playing the fool and the girls would have laughed at us but with him it seemed to go with his style of ce and fashion of speech so that one came at last to look for it for when he spoke to my mother or to cousin and he was never backward in speaking it would be with a bow and a look as if it would hardly be worth her while to listen to what he had to say and when they answered he would put on a ce as though every word she said was to be a wandering eagle up and remembered for ever and yet even while he himself to a woman there was always a proud sort of look at the back of his eye as if he meant to say that it was only to them that he was so meek and that he could be stiff enough upon occasion as to my mother it was wonderful the way that she softened to him and in half an hour she had told him all about her who was a in and the highest of any upon her side of the house she spoke to him about my brother rob s death which i had never heard her mention to a soul before and he looked as if the tears were in his eyes over it he who had just told us how he had seen three thousand men starved to death as to she did not say much but she kept shooting little glances at our visitor and once or twice he looked very hard at her when he had gone to his room after breakfast my father pulled out eight golden pounds and laid them on the table what think ye of that said he you ve sold the two black after all no but it s a month s pay for board and lodging from s friend and as much to come every four weeks but my mother shook her head when she heard it two pounds a week is over much said she and it is not when the poor gentleman is in distress that we should put such a price on his bit food es the great shadow cried my he can very well afford it and he with a of gold besides it s his own proposing no blessing will come from that money said she why woman he s turned your head wi his foreign trick of speech cried my aye and it would be a good thing if men had a little more of that kindly way she said and that was the first time in all my life that i had ever heard her answer him back he came down soon and asked me whether i would come out with him when we were in the sunshine he held out a little cross made of red stones one of the things that ever i had set eyes upon these are said he and i got it at in spain there were two of them but i gave the other to a girl i pray that you will	4
take this as a memory of your exceeding kindness to me yesterday it will into a pin for your i could but thank him for the present which was of more value than i had ever owned in my life i am off to the upper to count the said i maybe you would care to come up with me and see something of the country he hesitated for a moment and then he shook his head i have some letters he said which i ought h ir a wandering eagle to write as soon as possible i think that i will stay at quiet this morning and get them written all i was wandering over the links and you may imagine that my mind was turning all the time upon this strange man whom chance had drifted to our doors where did he gain that style of his that manner of command that haughty menacing of the eye and his experiences to which he referred so lightly how wonderful the life must have been which had put him in the way of them he had been kind to us and gracious of speech but still i could not quite shake myself clear of the distrust with which i had regarded him perhaps after all jim had been right and i had been wrong about taking him to west inch when i got back he looked as though he had been bom and bred in the he sat in the big wooden armed chair with the black cat on his knee his arms were out and he held a of from hand to hand which my mother was busily rolling into a ball cousin was sitting near and i could see by her eyes that she had been crying i said i what s the trouble like all good and true women has a soft heart said he i didn t thought it would have moved her or i should have been silent i have been talking of the suffering of some troops of which i knew something when the great shadow they were crossing the mountains in the winter of ah yes it was very bad for they were fine men and fine horses it is strange to see men blown by the wind over the but the ground was so and there was nothing to which they could hold so companies all linked arms and they did better in that fashion but one s hand came off as i held it for he had had the fix st bite for three days i stood staring with my mouth open and the old too who were not so active as they used to be they could not keep up and yet if they lingered the would catch them and them to the barn doors with their feet up and a fire under their heads which was a pity for these fine old soldiers so when they could go no farther it was interesting to see what they would do for they would sit down and say their prayers sitting on an old saddle or their maybe and then take off their boot and their and lean their chin on the barrel of their then they would put their toe on the and it was all over and there was no more marching for those fine old oh i it was very rough work up there on the mountains and what army was this i asked oh i have served in so many armies that i mix them up sometimes yes i have seen much of war i have seen your scotch men fight and very stout they make but i a wandering eagle thought rom them that the folk over here all wore how do you say it those are the and they wear them only n the ah on the mountains but there is a man out yonder maybe he is the one who your father said would carry my letters to the post yes he is farmer s man shall i give them to him well he would be more careful of them if he had them from your hand he took them from his pocket and gave them over to me i hurried out with them and as i did so my eyes fell upon the address of the one it was written very large and clear a s majesty le du i did not know very much french but i had enough to make that out what sort of eagle was this which had flown into our humble little nest chapter vn thb tower well it would weary me and i am very that it would weary you also if i were to attempt to tell you how life went with us after this man came under our roof or the way in which he gradually came to win the affections of every one of u with the women it was quick work enough but soon he had my ther too which was no such easy matter and had gained jim s good will as well as my own indeed we were but two great boys beside him for he had been everywhere and seen everything and of an evening he would chatter away in his english until he took us clean away from the plain kitchen and the little farm to plunge us into courts and and battle fields and all the wonders of the world had been sulky enough with him at first but de with his tact and his easy ways soon drew him round until he had quite won his heart and jim would sit with cousin s hand in his and the two be quite lost in listening to all that he had to tell us i will not tell you all this but even now after so long an interval i can trace how week	4
by week and month by month by this word and that deed he us all as he wished the tower one of his first acts was to give my father the boat in which he had come only the right to have it back in case he should have need of it the were down on the coast that autumn and my uncle before he died had us a fine s of u the gift s th a pound to us sometimes de would go out in the boat alone and i have seen him for a whole summer day slowly along and stopping every half dozen strokes to throw over a stone at the end of a string i could not think what he was doing until he told me of his own fi ee will i am fond of studying all that has to do with the military said he and i never lose a chance i was wondering if it would be a matter for the commander of an army corps to throw his men ashore here if the wind were not from the east said i ah quite so if the wind were not fix m the east have you taken here no your line of battle ships would have to lie outside but there is water enough for a forty gun right up within range your boats with them behind these sand hills then back with the for more and a stream of over their heads fix m the it could be done it could be done i his out more uke a cat s than ever and i could see by the flash of his eyes that he was carried away by his dream the great shadow ti you forget that our soldiers would be upon the beach said i indignantly ta ta ta he cried of course it takes two sides to make a battle let us see now us work it what could you get together shall we say twenty thirty thousand a few of good troops the rest with arms how do you call them brave men i shouted oh yes very brave men but ah mon it is incredible how they would be not they alone i mean but all young troops they are so afraid of being afraid that they would take no precaution ah i have seen it i in spain i have seen a of attack a battery of ten pieces up they went ah so gallantly and presently the looked from where i stood like how do you say it in english a and where was our fine of then another of young troops tried it all together in a rush shouting and yelling but what will shouting do against a and there was our second laid out on the and then the foot of the guard old soldiers were told to take the battery and there was nothing fine about their advance no column no shouting nobody killed just a few scattered lines of and of support but in ten minutes the guns were silenced and the spanish cut to pieces r mi i h l the tower war must be learned my friend just the same as the forming of ship said i not to be by a foreigner if we had thirty thousand men on the line of the hill yonder you would come to be very glad that you had your boats behind you on the line of the hill said he with a flash of his eyes along the ridge yes if your man knew his business he would have his left about your house his centre on and his right over near the doctor s house with his pushed out thickly in front his horse of course would try to cut us up as we on the beach but once let us form and we should soon know what to do there s the weak point there at the gap i would sweep it with my guns then roll in my cavalry push tlie on in grand columns and that wing would find itself up in the air eh jack where would your be close at the heels of your man said i and we both burst out into the hearty laugh with which such usually ended sometimes when he talked i thought he was joking and at other times it was not quite so easy to say i well remember one evening that summer when he was sitting in the kitchen with my father jim and me after the women had gone to bed he began about scotland and its relation to england you used to have your own king and your own laws made at said he does it the great shadow not fin you with rage and despair when you think that it all comes to you from ix now jim took his pipe out of his mouth it was we who put our king over the so if there s any rage it should have been over yonder said he this was clearly news to the stranger and it silenced him for the moment well but your laws are made down there and surely that is not good he said at last no it would be well to have a parliament back in said my father but i am kept so busy with the sheep that i have little enough time to think of such things it is for fine young men like you two to think of it said de when a country is injured it is to its young men that it looks to it aye tlie english take too much upon themselves sometimes said jim well if there are many of that way of thinking about why should we not form them into and march them upon cried de that	4
would be a rare little said i laughing and who would lead us he jumped up bowing with his hand on his heart in his queer fashion if you would allow me to have the honour he cried and then seeing that we were au laughing he began to laugh also but i am sure that there was really no thought of a joke in his mind i could never make out what his age could be nor could jim either sometimes we the tower thought that he was an man that looked young and at others that he was a man who looked old his brown stiff close hair needed no at the top where it away to a shining curve his skin too was by a thousand fine wrinkles and and was all burned as i have already said by the sun yet he was as as a boy and he was as tough as walking all day over the hills or on the sea without turning a hair on the whole we thought that he might be about forty or forty five though it was hard to see how he could have seen so much of life in the time but one day we got talking of ages and then he surprised us i had been saying that i was just twenty and jim said that he was twenty seven then i am the most old of the three said de we laughed at this for by our reckoning he might almost have been our father but not by so much said he his brows i was nine and twenty in december and it was this even more than his talk which made us understand what an extraordinary life it must have been that he had led he saw our astonishment and laughed at it i have lived i have lived he cried i have spent my days and my nights i led a company in a battle where five nations were engaged when i was but fourteen i made a king turn pale at the words e the great shadow i whispered in his ear when i was twenty i had a hand in a kingdom and putting a fresh king upon a fresh throne the very year that i came of age mon i have my life that was the most that i ever heard him confess of his past life and he only shook his head and laughed when we tried to get something more out of him there were times wh i we thought that he was but a clever for what could a man of such influence and talents be here in for but one day there came an incident which showed us that he had indeed a history in the past you will remember that there was an old officer of the war who lived no great way from us the same who danced round the with his sister and the two maids he had gone up to london on some business about his and his wound money and the chance of having some work given him so that he did not come back until late in the autumn one of the first days after his return he came down to see us and there for the first time he clapped eyes on de never in my life did i look upon so astonished a face and he stared at our friend for a long minute without so much as a word de looked back at him equally hard but there was no recognition in his eyes i do not know who you are sir he said at last but you look at me as if you had seen me before the tower so i have answered the major never to my knowledge but ru swear it where then at the village of in the year de started and stared again at our neighbour what a chance he cried and you were the english i remember you very well indeed sir let me have a whisper in your ear he took him aside and talked very earnestly with him in french for a quarter of an hour with his hands and explaining something while the major nodded his old head from time to time at last they seemed to come to some agreement and i heard the major say several times and afterwards fortune de la which i could very well understand for they gave you a fine up bringing at s but after that i always noticed that the major never used the same free of speech that we did towards our but bowed when he addressed him and treated him with a wonderful deal of respect i asked the major more than once what he knew about him but he always put it off and i could get no answer out of him jim was at home all that summer but late in the autumn he went back to again for the winter and as he intended to work very hard and get his degree next spring if he could he said that he would bide up there for the great shadow the christmas so there was a great leave taking between him and cousin and he was to put up his plate and to marry her as soon as he had the right to practise i never knew a man love a woman more fondly than he did her and she liked him well enough in a way for indeed in the whole of scotland she would not find a finer looking man but when it came to marriage i think she a little at the thought that all her wonderful dreams should end in more than in being the wife of a country surgeon still there was only jim and me to choose out of and she took the best of us of	4
course there was de also but we always felt that he was of an altogether different class to us and so he didn t count i was never very sure at that time whether cared for him or not when jim was at home they took little notice of each other after he was gone they were thrown more together which was natural enough as he had taken up so much of her time before once or twice she spoke to me about de as though she did not like him and yet she was uneasy if he were not in in the evening and there was no one so fond of his talk or with so many questions to ask him as she she made him describe what queens wore and what sort of carpets they walked on and whether they had hair pins in their hair and how many feathers they had in their hats until it was a wonder to me how he could find an answer to it all and yet an answer he always had and was so ready and quick with his tongue and so anxious to amuse the tower her that i wondered how it was that she did not like him better well the summer and the autumn and the best part of the winter passed away and we were still all very happy together we got well into the year and the great emperor was still eating his heart out at and all the were together at as to what they should do with the s skin now that they had so fairly hunted him down and we in our uttle comer of europe went on with our petty peaceful business looking after the sheep attending the cattle and at night round the blazing fire we never thought that what all these high and mighty people were doing could have any bearing upon us and as to war why everybody was agreed that the great shadow was from us for ever and that unless the quarrelled among themselves there would not be a shot fired in europe for another fifty years there was one incident however that stands out very clearly in my memory i think that it must have happened about the february of this year and i will tell it to you before i go any further you know what the border castles are uke i have no doubt they were just square keeps built every here and there along the line so that the folk might have some place of protection against and moss when and his men were over the then the people would drive some of their cattle into the yard of the tower the great shadow shut up the big gate and light a fire in the at the top which would be answered by all the other towers until the lights would go twinkling up to the hills and so carry the news on to the and to but now of course all these old keeps were and crumbling and made fine places for the wild birds many a good egg have i had for my collection out of the tower one day i had been a very long walk away over to leave a message at the who live two miles on this side of about five o clock just before the sunset i found myself on the path with the end of west inch peeping up in of me and the old tower lying on my left i turned my eyes on the keep for it looked so fine with the flush of the level sun beating upon it and the blue sea stretching out behind and as i stared i suddenly saw the face of a man twinkle for a moment in one of the holes in the wall well i stood and wondered over this for what could anybody be doing in such a place now that it was too early for the season it was so queer that i was determined to come to the bottom of it so tired as i was i turned my shoulder on home and walked swiftly towards the tower the grass stretches right up to the very base of the wall and my feet made little noise until i reached the crumbling arch where the old gate used to be i peeped through and there was the tower de standing inside the keep and peeping out through the very hole at which i had seen hj face he was turned half away from me and it was clear that he had not seen me at all for he was staring with all his eyes over in the direction of west inch as i advanced my foot rattled the that lay in the and he turned round with a start and me he was not a man whom you could put out of countenance and his face changed no more than if he had been expecting me there for a but there was something in his eyes which let me know that he would have paid a good price to have said i what are you doing here i may ask you that said he i came up because i saw your ce at the window and i because as you may well have observed i have very much interest for all that has to do with the and of course castles are among them you will excuse me for one moment my dear jack and he stepped out suddenly through the hole in the wall so as to be out of my sight but i was very much too curious to excuse him so easily i shifted my ground swiftly to see what it was that he was after he was standing outside and waving his hand as in a signal what are you doing i cried and then running	4
out to his side i looked across the to see whom he was to the great shadow you go too far sir said he angrily i didn t thought you would have gone so far a gentleman has the freedom to act as he choose without your being the spy upon him if we are to be friends you must not interfere in my affairs i don t like these secret doings said i and my father would not like them either your father can speak for himself and there is no secret said he it is you with your that make a secret ta ta ta i have no patience with such foolishness and without so much as a nod he turned his back upon me and started walking swiftly to west inch well i followed him and in the worst of for i had a feeling that there was some mischief in the wind and yet i could not for the life of me think what it all meant again i found myself over the whole mystery of this man s coming and of his long residence among us and whom could he have expected to meet at the was the fellow a spy and was it some brother spy who came to speak with him there but that was absurd what could there be to spy about in and besides major knew all about him and he would not show him such respect if there were anything amiss i had just got as far as this in my thoughts when i heard a cheery hail and there was the major himself coming down the hill m his house with his big held in this dog was the tower a savage creature and had caused more than one accident on the country side but the major was very fond of it and would never go out without it though he kept it tied with a good thick of leather well just as i was looking at the major waiting for him to come up he stumbled with his lame leg over a branch of and in recovering himself he let go his hold of the and in an instant there was the beast of a dog flying down the in my direction i did not like it i can tell you for there was neither stick nor stone about and i knew that the brute was dangerous the major was shrieking to it from behind and i think that the creature thought that he was it on so furiously did it rush but i knew its name and i thought that maybe that might give me the privileges of so as it came at me with hair and its nose back its two red eyes i cried out at the pitch of my lungs it had its effect for the beast passed me with a and flew along the path on the traces of de he turned at the shouting and seemed to take in the whole thing at a glance but he strolled along as slowly as ever my heart was in my mouth for him for the dog had never seen him before and i ran as as my feet would carry me to drag it away from him but somehow as it bounded up and saw the finger and thumb which de held out behind him its the great shadow fury died suddenly away and we saw it its thumb of a and at his knee your dog then major he as its owner came up ah it is a fine beast a fine pretty thing the major was blowing hard for he had covered the ground nearly as st as i had i was lest he might have hurt you he panted ta ta ta cried de he is a pretty gentle thing i love the dogs but i am glad that i have met you major for here is this young gentleman to whom i owe very much who has b to think that i am a spy is it not so jack i was so taken by his words that i could not lay my tongue to an answer but coloured up and looked like the awkward country lad that i was you know me major said de and i am sure that you will tell him that this could not be no no jack certainly not certainly cried the major thank you said de you know me and you do me justice and yourself i hope that your knee is better and that you will soon have your regiment given you i am well enough answered the major but they will never give me a place unless there is war and there will be no more war in my time the tower oh i you think that said de with a smile well we shall see my friend he off his hat and briskly he walked off in the direction of west inch the major stood looking after him with thoughtful eyes and then asked me what it was that had made me think that he was a spy when i told him he said nothing but he shook his head and looked like a man who was ill at ease in his mind chapter vm the coming of the i never felt quite the same to our after that little business at the tower it was always in my mind that he was holding a secret from me indeed that he was all a secret together seeing that he always hung a over his past and when by chance that veil was for an instant away we always caught just a glimpse of something bloody and violent and dreadful upon the other side the very look of his body was terrible i bathed with him once in the summer and i saw then that he was with	4
how it had lain on his mind that he should be a with no part to play in the world i am to join my regiment as soon as i can and we be over yonder in a month and in paris maybe before another one is over by the lord then i m with you major cried jim i m not too proud to carry a if you will put me in fix nt of this frenchman my lad i d be proud to have you serve under me said the major and as to de where the emperor is he will be the return of the shadow you know the man said i what can you there is no better officer in the french army and that is a big word to say they say that he would have been a but he preferred to stay at the emperor s elbow i met him two days before when i was sent with a flag to speak about our wounded he was with then i knew him again when i saw him and i will know him again when i see him said with the old look on his face and then at that instant as i stood there it was suddenly driven home to me how poor and a ufe i should lead while this crippled of ours and the companion of my boyhood were away in the fore front of the storm quick as a flash my resolution was taken i ll come with you too major i cried i i said my father wringing his hands jim said nothing but he put his arm half round me and me the major s eye shone and he flourished his cane in the air my word but i shall have two good at my heels said he well there s no time to be lost so you must both be ready for the evening coach and this was what a single day brought about and yet years pass away so often without a change just think of the alteration in that four and twenty the great shadow hours de was gone was gone napoleon had escaped war had broken out jim had lost and he and i were setting out to fight against the french it was all like a dream until i off to the coach that evening and looked back at the grey farm and at the two little dark figures my mother with her sunk in her shawl and my father waving his s stick to me upon my way chapter xi the gathering of the nations and now i come to a bit of my story that clean takes my breath away as i think of it and makes me wish that i had never taken the job of telling it in hand for when i write i like things to come slow and orderly and in their turn like sheep coming out of a so it was at west inch but now that we were drawn into a larger life like bits of straw that float slowly down some lazy ditch until they suddenly find themselves in the dash and of a great river then it is very hard for me with my simple words to keep pace with it all but you can find the cause and reason of everything in the books about history and so i shall just leave that alone and talk about what i saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears the regiment to which our had been appointed was the seventy first light which wore the red coat and the and had its in town there we went all three by coach the major in great spirits and of stories about the duke and the while jim sat in the comer with his lips set and his arms folded and i knew that he killed de three times an hour in his heart i could tell it by the great shadow the sudden of his eyes and grip of his hand as to i did not know whether to be glad or sorry for home is home and it is a weary thing however you may brazen it out to feel that half scotland is between you and your mother we were in next day and the major took us down to the where a soldier with three on his arm and a of ribbons fix m his cap showed every tooth he had in his head at the sight of jim and walked three times round him to have the view of hun as if he had been castle then he came over to me and felt my muscle and was nigh as pleased as with jim these are the sort major these are the sort he kept saying with a thousand of these we could stand up to s best how do they run asked the major a poor show said he but they may into shape the best men have been to america and we are of and tut tut said the major we ll have old soldiers and good ones against us come to me if you need any help you two and so with a nod he left us and we began to understand that a major who is your officer is a very different person from a major who happens to be your neighbour in the country well well why should i trouble you with these things i could wear out a good pen just writing about what we did jim and i at the the gathering of the nations in and how w e came to know our officers and our comrades and how they began to know us soon came the news that the folk at who had been cutting up europe as if it had been a of mutton had	4
flown back each to his own country and that every man and horse in their armies had their faces towards france we heard of great and in paris too and then that was in the countries and that on us and on the would fall the first blow the government was shipping men over to him as fast as they could and every port along the east coast was choked with guns and horses and stores on the third of june we had our marching orders also and on the same day we took ship from reaching the night after it was my first sight of a foreign land and indeed most of my comrades were the same for we were very young in the ranks i can see the blue water now and the curling surf line and the long yellow beach and queer twisting and turning a thing that a man would not see from one end of scotland to the other it was a clean well kept town but the folk were and there was neither ale nor cakes to be bought amongst them from there we went on to a place called and firom there to where we picked up with the fifty second and the ninety fifth which were the two that we were with it s a place for churches and the great shadow is and indeed of all the towns we were in there was scarce one but had a finer than any in from there we pushed on to which is a little village on a river or a bum rather called the there we were in tents mostly for it was fine sunny weather and the whole set to work at its from morning till evening general was our chief and re was our colonel and they were both fine old soldiers but what put heart into us most was to think that we were under the duke for his name was like a call he was at with the bulk of the army but we knew that we should see him quick enough if he were needed i had never seen so many english together and indeed i had a kind of contempt for them as folk always have if they live near a border but the two that were with us now were as good comrades as could be wished the fifty second had a thousand men in the ranks and there were many old soldiers of the among them they came from for the most part the ninety fifth were a rifle regiment and had dark green coats instead of red it was strange to see them for they would put the ball in a greasy rag and then hammer it down with a but they could fire both farther and than we all that part of was covered with british troops at that time for the guards were over near and there were cavalry the gathering of the nations ments on the farther side of us you see it was very necessary that should spread out all his force for was behind the screen of his and of course we had no means of saying on what side he might pop out except that he was pretty sure to come the way that we least expected him on the one side he might get between us and the sea and so cut us off from england and on the other he might in between the and ourselves but the duke was as clever as he for he had his horse and his light troops au round him like a great spider s web so that the moment a french foot stepped across the border he could close up all his men at the right place for myself i was very happy at and i found the folk very kindly and homely there was a of the name of in whose fields we were who was a real good friend to many of us we built him a wooden bam among us in our spare time and many a time i and my rear rank man have hung out his washing for the smell of the wet linen seemed to take us both straight home as nothing else could do i have often wondered whether that good man and his wife are still living though i think it hardly likely for they were of a hale middle age at the time jim would come with us too sometimes and would sit with us smoking in the big kitchen but he was a different jim now to the old one he had had a hard touch in him but the great shadow now his trouble seemed to have turned hun to flint and i never saw a smile upon his face and seldom heard a word firom his lips his whole mind was set on himself upon de for having taken from him and he would sit for hours with his chin upon his hands glaring and fix all wrapped in the one idea this made him a bit of a butt among the men at first and they laughed at him for it but when they came to know him better they found that he was not a good man to laugh at and then they dropped it we were early at that time and the whole was usually under arms at the first flush of dawn one morning it was the sixteenth of june we had just formed up and general had ridden up to give some order to colonel within a length of where i stood when suddenly they both stood staring along the road none of us dared move our heads but every eye in the regiment round and there we saw an with the of a general s de camp thundering down the road as hard as a great	4
grey horse could carry him he bent his face over its mane and at its neck with the slack of the bridle as though he rode for very life says the general this begins to look like business what do you make of it they both their horses forward and tore open the despatch which the messenger handed to him the envelope had not the gathering of the nations touched the ground before he turned waving the letter over his head as if had been a dismiss i he cried general parade and march in half an hour then in an instant all was and bustle and the news on every lip napoleon had crossed the the day before had pushed the before him and was already deep in the country to the east of us with a hundred and fifty thousand men away we to gather our things together and have our breakfast and in an hour we had marched off and left and the behind us forever there was good need for haste for the had sent no news to of what was doing and though he had rushed from at the first whisper of it uke a good old firom its it was hard to see how he could come up in time to help the it was a bright warm morning and as the down the broad road the dust rolled up fix m it uke the smoke of a battery i tell you that we blessed the man that planted the along the sides for their shadow was better than drink to us over across the fields both to the right and the left were other roads one quite close and the other a mile or more from us a column of was marching down the near one and it was a fair race between us for we were each walking for all we were worth there was such a wreath of dust round them that we could only see the gun barrels and the breaking the shadow out here and there with the and a out shore the and the flutter of the it was a of the guards but we not which we had two of them with us in the campaign on the road there was also dost and to are but through it there flashed now and thai a loi twinkle of h like a hundred beads in a line and the brought down a kind of music as i had listened ta if i bad been left to it would been loi i knew what it was but our and were all soldiers and i had me with his at my elbow was full of i and advice that s heavy said he you see that double twinkle that means they have as well as it s the w the or the household you can hear their and the are too good for us they have ten to our one and good men too you ve got to shoot at their es or else at their horses mind you that when you see them coming or else find a four foot stuck through your liver to teach you better hark i hark hark i there s the old music again i and as he spoke there came the low grumbling of a away somewhere to the east of us deep and hoarse like a roar of some blood beast that on the lives of men at the same instant there was shouting of i i the gathering of the nations firom behind and somebody roared let the guns get through i looking back i saw the rear companies suddenly in two and themselves down on either side into the ditch while six coloured horses two and two with their to the ground came thundering through the gap with a fine twelve pound gun whirling and creaking behind them following were another and another four and twenty in all flying past us with such a din and clatter the blue men clinging on to the guns and the the drivers cursing and their the the and and the whole air filled with the heavy and the of chains there was a roar fi om the and a shout from the and we saw a grey cloud before us with a score of breaking through the shadow then we closed up again while the growling ahead of us grew louder and deeper than ever there s three there said the there s bull s and smith s but the other is new there s some more on ahead of us for here s the track of a nine and the others were all choose a twelve if you want to get hit for a nine you up but a twelve you like a and then he went on to tell about the wounds that he had seen until my blood ran like water in my veins and you might have rubbed all our faces in pipe clay and we should have been no ill the great shadow aye you ll look yet when you get a of into your said he and then as i saw some of the old soldiers laughing i began to understand that this man was trying to frighten us so i began to laugh also and the others as well but it was not a very hearty laugh either the sun was almost above us when we stopped at a little place called where there is an old pump from which i drew and drank a full of water and never did a of scotch ale taste as sweet more guns passed us here and s three of them smart men with brown horses a treat to the eye the noise of the was louder than ever now and it through my nerves just as it had done years before when with by my	4
side i had seen the merchant ship fight with the it was so loud now that it seemed to me that the battle must be going on just beyond the nearest wood but my friend the knew better it s twelve to fifteen miles off said he you may be sure that the general knows that we are not wanted or we should not be resting here at what he said proved to be true for a minute later down came the colonel with orders that we should arms and where we were and there we stayed all day while horse and foot and guns english dutch and were streaming through the devil s music went on till evening sometimes rising into a roar sometimes the gathering of the nations sinking into a until about eight o clock in the evening it stopped altogether we were eating our hearts out as you may think to know what it all meant but we knew that what the duke did would be for the best so we just waited in patience next day the remained at in the morning but about mid day came an orderly firom the duke and we pushed on once more until we came to a little village called something and there we stopped and time too for a sudden thunder storm came on and a plump of rain that turned all the roads and the fields into and mire we got into the at this village for shelter and there we found two one fix m man who had a tale to tell that was as dreary as the weather had the the day before and our fellows had been sore put to it to hold their own against but had beaten him off at last it seems an old stale story to you now but you cannot think how we scrambled round those two men in the bam and pushed and fought just to catch a word of what they said and how those who had heard were in turn by those who had not we laughed and cheered and groaned all in turn as we were told how the forty fourth had received cavalry in line how the dutch had fled and how the black watch had taken the into their square and then had killed the great shadow them at their leisure but the had had the laugh on their side when they up the sixty ninth and carried off one of the colours to wind it all up the duke was in retreat in order to keep in touch with the and it was that he would take up his ground and fight a big battle just at the very place where we had been halted and soon we saw that this rumour was true for the weather cleared towards evening and we were all out on the ridge to see what we could see it was such a stretch of com and land with the crops just half green and half yellow and fine as high as a man s shoulder a scene more full of peace you could not think of and look where you would over the low corn covered hills you could see the little village up their among the but right across this pretty picture was a long trail of marching men some red some green some blue some black over the plain and choking the roads one end so close that we could shout to them as they their on the ridge at our left and the other end lost among the woods as far as we could see and then on other roads we saw the of horses toiling and the dull gleam of the guns and the men straining and swaying as they helped to turn the in the deep deep mud as we stood there regiment after regiment and after took position on the ridge and ere the sun had set we lay in a line lu ill m mm m g ss ba mm the gathering of the nations of over sixty thousand men napoleon s way to but the rain had come down again and we of the seventy first rushed off to our bam once more where we had better quarters than the greater part of our comrades who lay stretched in the mud with the storm beating upon them until the first peep of day chapter the shadow on the land it was still in the morning with brown drifting clouds and a damp chilly wind it was a queer thing for me as i opened my eyes to think that i should be in a battle that day though none of us ever thought it would be such a one as it proved to be we were up and ready however with the first and as we threw open the doors of our bam we heard the most lovely music that i had ever listened to playing somewhere in the distance we all stood in clusters to it it was so sweet and innocent and sad like but our laughed when he saw how it had pleased us all them are the french bands said he and if you come out here you ll see what some of you may not live to see again out we went the beautiful music still sounding in our ears and stood on a rise just outside the bam down below at the bottom of the slope about half a shot firom us was a snug farm with a hedge and a bit of an apple orchard all round it a line of men in red coats and high fur hats were working like bees knocking holes in the wall and up the doors them s the light companies of the guards the shadow on the land said the they ll hold that farm while one of them can wag a finger	4

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